Identity: Wolf, Rider, and Malice
by BrandonColonel
Summary: Eragon and Saphira leave Alagaesia for a time to fullfill an old promise of finding Dragons in foreign lands. But while they don't find any dragons, they do find a rather interesting couple owning a bathhouse. Chaos ensues as a hatching Dragon egg causes unexpected consequences for Lawrence and Holo right before the situation becomes even more dire.
1. Strange Creatures in a Strange Land

**Well, I never thought I'd actually write another fanfic, but here we are. And a crossover no less. I won't really spend much time in the author's notes, so this one will probably be it. This story is taking place after the events of both series and their endings. However, my last fic, Spice and Wolf, The Home Stretch, is taken as cannon for this fic. So you may find yourself a bit lost if you haven't read it, but not irreparably so. Things to note, mental communication will be denoted with italics. Ancient language will be denoted with bold. And if both happen simultaneously, well, they're both happening simultaneously. I guess I can't say I won't ever write another fic again, but I seriously can't promise anything. I guess you'll just have to stay tuned if you like my style as I'm considering finishing a piece I never finished if I ever get the motivation to do it. Hope you guys enjoy this fic!**

**Strange Creatures in a Strange Land**

It had been about twenty years since Eragon had decided on Mount Arngor to be the new home of the Dragon Riders. In those twenty years, the Riders' numbers had grown drastically. They were now 237 in total, and growing most every week. The wild Dragon population had grown too large to count. While the Dwarves had grown more accepting of the Dragons in their backyard since having been amended into the Blood Oath Covenant, they still weren't happy to again have to defend their herds from hungry, fire breathing lizards, as some called the Dragons. This became a point of argument many times for Eragon to mediate. The Elves, on the other hand, were all too happy to share what they had with the wild Dragons.

But by now at least, there were systems in place that allowed for more peaceful communications between wild Dragons and the populations who were… less than enthusiastic about their return. The wild Dragons had agreed to help in farming, in proportion at least, to the amount of livestock that would be set aside for them to take at their leisure. While this was not a foolproof method, it at least solved the immediate problems they faced and allowed for calmer heads to prevail in the event of one side breaking the agreement.

With the new Dragons, riders, and regulations in place, Eragon decided to make good on his decades old promise to Saphira of traversing the seas in search of other lands that may possibly contain Dragons.

"Are you sure we can leave the new Riders in charge while we just leave the whole of Alagaësia? Maybe it is too soon. There's still so much we should be doing!" Eragon agonized. Saphira just looked back at him and said, "_Quit your whining and just pack the saddle. Or do you feel your secondary promise to the Order is of less importance than your far older promise to ME?!_" Eragon cocked his head for a minute. "You do remember that you have been apart of that order for only a few months less than that promise is old, don't you? I wouldn't go about saying things like 'far older' unless you're speaking of something at least ten years older than the latter." Saphira blew smoke at him. "_Just pack already._" Eragon smiled, "As you wish."

Their journey had been planned for months. They were to travel across the sea bordering the Elves. They chose this partly out of convenience and partly out of hope that they would come across more Elves who could teach them more about magic that couldn't be learned in Alagaësia. They had left a few of the oldest Riders in charge with specific instructions to contact Queen Arya and Firnen in the event of an issue they couldn't solve. To Saphira, this should take care of any issues that would trouble Eragon. But he still worried.

"Ok Saphira. We're all packed. Are you ready to go?" Saphira responded by snaking her tail between his legs and flinging him onto her saddle before launching skyward. Eragon had only just enough time to put his hands below him to minimize the pain. Saphira just chuckled to herself.

…

It took about two weeks of flying, even with the Eldunari giving strength to Saphira during flight and replenishing her energy faster while she rested. But eventually, they all came to a distant land. "Well Saphira, it seems we have a port town ahead. Should we chance being spotted, or hide long enough to gather some information about this new land?" Saphira was a long time coming in response. "_I think it best that I should hide in the water while you gather information. After all, if Dragons do not exist here, we may be startling them for no reason. And I would like to not have to avoid giant arrows like those from Teirm._" Eragon nodded his ascent. "I agree. What say you Ebrithilar?"

The Eldunari inside the pinprick pocket space behind him began to stir in thought. "_We shall supply Saphira with more strength first, so she may be able to defend herself without us if necessary. Then Eragon should leave with all of us to gather as much information as possible. With all of us searching the area with our minds, we should be able to gather the information we seek._" Saphira was the first to respond to this plan. "_While I do not doubt the wisdom of this plan, would we not be able to gather the same information from this distance?_" Eragon responded to her question in place of the Eldunari. "I see your point, but as you likely remember from our training with Master Oromis, simply looking with our minds doesn't always grant the same picture. Especially if the minds we look into have no concept of what we seek."

"_Understood, partner of my heart and mind. I will remain here then. Just don't take too long. You always get yourself into trouble when we're not together._" She made that last sentence rather pointed. "I get it Saphira. I should be gone no more than two days before I call to you to relay our location."

As Eragon jumped into the water, he used magic to propel himself towards a secluded part of the shore. The Eldunari had already began searching the area with their minds while he worked. As their consciousness intermingled with his, he began to realize the language barrier. "What do you think about the language, Ebrithilar?" The Eldunari didn't take long. "_That shouldn't take us more than a week to solve. We can decipher their language together so we can all better understand and gather our intelligence. This should be our highest priority._" Eragon readily agreed and relayed their findings to Saphira. "_Just don't take longer than you promised to call for me. Swimming this long wreaks havoc on my scales!_" Eragon winced at that last part. She was very proud of her shining scales after all. "_How does a nice scrubbing when you arrive back with us sound? I'll make sure to get every scale as soon as we are in a place that allows it._" Eragon asked.

"_Hmm. Just don't claim you can't do it and put it off until we get back to Mount Arngor. If you try it, I'll hold you down and lick you everywhere._" Saphira said matter of factly. Eragon physically shuttered at the thought of her barbed, slimy tongue in places it should never be before responding. "_Trust me, I won't do that Saphira. When have I ever done that anyways?_" "_There's a first time for everything Eragon._" Said Saphira sarcastically.

With the last of their conversation had, Eragon threw himself into his mission of gathering as much information as he could while mainly trying to decipher the new language. As any member discovered the connection between a word in the new language and their own, it was immediately relayed. It was slow, tedious work, but they were making steady headway.

By the end of the first day, Eragon was able to read the thoughts of people quite clearly by understanding the way the thoughts were made were similar no matter the language. Even so, he still couldn't speak it just yet. However, a good portion of it was available now, thanks to the fantastic ability of the Eldunari. One of the older Eldunari came up with the plan to have each one memorize a portion and meaning, and Eragon would give them the words he wanted to speak, and they would translate for him to speak himself. And eventually, Eragon should be able to speak by himself through repetition. He would be slow in the beginning, but the system would get faster over time. He could also introduce himself as a foreigner, which would give him extra consideration for the language.

Eragon found a place in a forest, far away from the town and called Saphira. "_Why did you call me so early? I thought you said you would be here two days before calling me._" Eragon replied simply, "I figured that there wasn't much need to keep you in the water when we've already found that there are no Dragons, no magic users, and little of real value here for the Order. I wanted to find out what you wanted to do with you right next to me." Saphira seemed to deflate a little when she responded, "_Should we call it off? It took us two weeks to make it this far, and there is no telling how much farther we would have to travel before we find a land with Dragons. If any exist at all outside of Alagaësia._"

Eragon thought for a bit before responding. "Well, if it's what you want to do, then I have no right to complain. This trip is for you after all." This didn't seem to cheer her up at all and Eragon took note, as she is normally very logical. "Well, would you like to at least hear what we found while you were in the ocean Saphira?" She still looked a little dejected but turned to listen to him anyway. "We found that this is a town called Kerube. It seems to be mainly run by the Rowen Trade Guild, but loosely. I didn't get many specifics about any lords or the region. We haven't seen that before in any city in Alagaësia. I'd say it's at least worth checking the towns of this land out for a bit. Not to mention, there are a few things that intrigued me that may be worth checking into."

Saphira replied, "_We should probably just leave soon if there is nothing of value here to us. No sense in shaking a hornet's nest for honey._" It was then that Eragon got another idea that might cheer her up enough to continue looking at least. He didn't like that she gave up so soon after being as ready to go as she was. "Saphira, you don't suppose that the Dragons have been in decline here too, do you? Maybe we could still find a few lying around somewhere in seclusion if we just keep looking." At this, Saphira finally perked up somewhat. "_Don't lie to me just to cheer me up. While the thought of that does bring me a small amount of hope, I would rather go home now than to spend far longer here for nothing._"

"Saphira, have your emotions started raging again now that you're a month into carrying your second clutch?" At this, Saphira nearly took Eragon's head off if not for the last second hesitation. "_I… I'm sorry, Eragon. It might be possible they are slightly abnormal. But this is perfectly normal for a Dragon. Nothing nearly as bad as when you humans are pregnant. At least I'm still sane._" Eragon shuttered at the thought of her moods being as bad as a pregnant human woman. "You are right about that Saphira." At that she stood up to start looking for a stream so Eragon could make good on his recent promise to her. However, Eragon stopped her. "Saphira, I hate to give you bad news, but…" "_Then don't._" Saphira interrupted. "Come now Saphira. You know I wouldn't needlessly upset you. But the forest here isn't dense enough to hide us for long. We need to find a thicker forest to hide your scales. And since your personal history shows convincingly that you won't muddy your scales on purpose, it would be safer to fly to a denser forest."

"_But did you not say there were no magic users? Aside from scaring a person or two, what danger would they pose?_" Saphira questioned. "Weren't you the one who didn't want to stir up a hornet's nest looking for honey?" To this she responded, unimpressed. "_That was for the whole town. Not a single traveler. Even if one or two is more dangerous than they seem, I doubt they can overpower us all._" Eragon tiredly gave his reply. "I mentioned earlier that there were some things that intrigued me did I not?"

"_You did. What of them?_" she asked, irritated. "I found a few people here in the town who seemed to be human, but not quite. I only found a few, and one of them left the town sometime later. It wasn't long before I lost track of their consciousness when I got distracted by something else. It was as if they had suddenly moved a great distance in the short few minutes I was focused on something else. And as the Eldunari agreed to focus on different things, none of them saw what I saw. All that I know was that magic wasn't involved that I was aware of, and their minds held a slight animalistic quality to them. But it was clearly similar to that of the Elves. Similar, but different as well."

At this, Saphira ceased her griping and became interested. "_Was this like Blödhgarm's mind?_" Eragon shook his head. "No, while I can say it had a few similarities, there weren't enough to say it was the same thing." Saphira pondered this for a few minutes before posing her question to the Eldunari. "_Ebrithil_ _Umaroth, if you and the others were to examine a few of these minds, would you perhaps be able to conclude if they are connected to the Elves changing spells?_" Umaroth thought for a moment and responded, "_Yes. I do think it to be possible that we could. Eragon, could you direct us to the mind that you felt earlier which did not leave? After that, we should find a new town with more minds like that one to compare._" All in attendance agreed. Eragon was just happy he didn't have to convince Saphira to leave anymore.

As Saphira was flying to another city, they all discussed what the Eldunari had discovered in the mind of the one man in the city possessing animalistic qualities. "_What we discovered was that this man was clearly thinking as a sheep. We didn't search his memories, as we have no true need to invade his privacy in such a manor, but he also did seem quite fond of actual sheep, as he thought of them often. Most seemed to have names._" Eragon asked his question next. "Did they seem like family pets? Or were they closer than that? Maybe fully transformed Elves?" Umaroth responded, "_It did not seem that they were mere pets. However, they were not transformed Elves. He clearly thought of them as sheep. But they were considered friends and family by him. We may need to reveal ourselves to at least one person like this and ask permission into their mind if they do not quite know themselves the answer to this riddle._"

Saphira closed the conversation for now, as it was achieving nothing but speculation, by speaking up. "_Everyone, we have arrived at another large town. This one has a bountiful forest in which I can hide, as well as being big enough to possibly hide more of these strange humans._" The Eldunari all stretched out their thoughts to the city at once. "_We sense a few of these people here in the city. But it seems a vast amount more are in the forest. However, those in the forest seem to be more animal with human thinking patterns than the reverse. Saphira, be careful where you land. I fear not all of the animals in this forest are truly animals as they may seem._"

"_Understood Ebrithil Umaroth._" Said Saphira before landing in a more secluded area of the forest. "_Now for some true rest. Please, Ebrithilar, watch over the surrounding area while we sleep. For I fear in our condition, we may not be able to tell the difference between animal and these strange new creatures._" At once, they all responded in the ancient language with, "_**We shall.**_**" **


	2. Meeting of the Minds

**Meeting of the Minds**

As Eragon and Saphira woke the next day, the Eldunari had new information to give the pair. "_As you two slept, we found out quite a bit. First off, we think that we have gathered enough about the language to make you competent in it's use. We could either overload you and push it into your subconscious, or go with the slower plan from before. What is your decision on that matter Eragon?_" He replied, "If it becomes necessary that I be proficient on my own, please overload me. But I would rather avoid that as it sounds… rather unpleasant. So, for now at least, let us stick to the plan we first came up with." The Eldunari made the thought equivalent of nodding their heads.

"_Next, we found several of these strange humans in the city, which we found to be called Lesko. This town is clearly run by a trade guild by the name of the Debau Company and there are no lords to rule it. The town is run by merchants. However, there are several surrounding towns, though smaller in size, that are run by lords. More than a few of these towns contain these strange individuals as well. Though some seem more human than others. But the forest itself contains the largest concentration of these entities. Some seem to be human with animalistic traits, while others seem to be animal with humanistic traits. But the number seems to constantly shift, as we can never get a solid number. We estimate that the overall number of both should be somewhere around a hundred or so."_

Saphira asked, "_So where do you feel we should start our search Ebrithilar?_" The Eldunari pondered this for a bit before responding. "_We feel it best to begin in the small village of Nyohhira to the north, where there are a few of these strange people. The town is small enough while being surrounded by forest to go unnoticed by the surrounding area. Also, the more animal than human entities seem to not routinely visit this part of the forest. We feel it better than asking questions in a large town such as here in Lesko._"

Eragon responded, "True. Better to ask a possibly absurd or dangerous question in a small town, cut off from mainstream society than to show our ignorance in a large town. So, are we off to Nyohhira?" Saphira growled her ascent. "_To Nyohhira we go._"

While in the air, Eragon asked the Eldunari, "Ebrithilar, did you ever discover any new information as to whether or not they were related to Elves?" The Eldunari seemed to radiate a slight embarrassment as well as anger. "_We could not. While it is clear that when observing an ant, you can not immediately tell it is an ant due to it never thinking of itself as such, with enough information, one should be able to correctly identify what one is observing. Yet we could neither prove nor disprove such a theory of Elfhood!_" Eragon recoiled at the sudden aggression from Umaroth.

"I…Is there anything else we should know Ebrithilar?" Umaroth noticeably calmed down before speaking again. "_There is. You may want to change the markings on your gold and silver coins to the image you see. They seem to be rather important in this area. We found more than a few merchants worried about such things. Purity seems to be rather important as well._" Eragon though it over for a minute. "So, was this coin you've shown us of rather high purity?" Again, the thought version of a nod. "In that case, I can gather from the ground the materials needed for a few coins, should we run out of coin. Though, should we run dangerously low, I may need to borrow your strength Ebrithilar." They responded simply, "_We will help when needed, Eragon._" They paused for a bit before responding again. "_Oh, we almost forgot, another accepted coin looked like this._" Before Eragon's mind were two coins. One was the same as before, a coin with a marking of the sun. But the second had a person's face on it. "_The first was called a Debau. The specific designation is contingent on whether it is gold or silver. The second is called a Trenni and is always silver. The only other gold coin in the area looks like this and is called a Lumione._"

Eragon, only recently involved in true economics, started to feel his head spinning at even the beginning of hearing so many coins. "Are there any other coins we should know about?" The Eldunari began flooding Eragon with several bronze coin types until he told them to stop. "I think we should wait for the bronze coins until we get to the village. We can decide on one or two when we get there." Saphira just chuckled as she flew.

While the forests thinned somewhat as they flew into the mountains, they remained dense enough to hide Saphira. Eventually she landed in a clearing not too far away from the village called Nyohhira. "_I saw the village back there, below us. I flew higher on the mountain so as to hopefully avoid startling the wildlife too much._" Eragon nodded and dismounted. "That should do Saphira. I don't think we should be here too long, but I want you to keep your mind close so you can see what we see. That way I don't have to explain later if or why there may be changes to the plan. In any case, be safe Saphira. I'll never let you live it down if you are caught unawares by one of these strange beings." Saphira blew smoke at him. "_Just you be careful. I never get into trouble when you're gone. But you always find yourself on an adventure when I'm not around._" Eragon rolled his eyes and left for Nyohhira.

…

It had been about ten years since Lawrence and Holo had set up the Spice and Wolf Bathhouse. Their daughter Myuri and Col had left on a journey. Or rather, Col had left and Myuri stowed away in some cargo. Holo had wholly taken to her journaling that Lawrence had suggested as a means to quell the fear of his impending passing. While she should still have another forty years or so with him, Holo was still worried about what she should do. But today, that worry was the last thing on her mind.

"Lawrence, I can't quite put my finger on it, but something has been bothering me since last night. Tis as if someone has been inside my head and I don't like it." Lawrence wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? Do you think you just drank too much at the meeting last night?" Holo stomped on the floor. "No, you fool! I mean it feels as if there is someone else inside of my head! I can't determine what is causing it, but I do not like it. Tis unlike anything I have encountered before. It aggravates my instincts." Lawrence knew better than to underestimate Holo's instincts. "Do you think there is danger coming?" he asked seriously. "I know not if tis real danger. But I do not feel the presence was ill meaning. But it still annoys me! But another thing."

At this, Lawrence looked up because Holo's face changed from annoyance to caution. "I smell something big in the air. It smells of power greater than my own. It seemed to carry multiple scents, but there was no mistaking the size of one of them." Lawrence lowered his head and voice as he asked, "How big do you think? Is this another incarnation?"

"I know not if tis another incarnation for sure. I have never smelled this before exactly, but the scent of power in unmistakable. This just sets my instincts ablaze it does!" Lawrence thought for a little while. "Well combine the power you couldn't mistake with the odd presence in your mind you felt earlier, and this can't be coincidence. Please let me know if any unusual travelers are approaching Nyohhira."

"There does seem to be a traveler coming now. But his scent is coming from the wrong side of the village." Lawrence was nervous about that as the 'wrong side of the village' meant that they descended the mountain instead of climbing it. "Did they come from the same direction as the 'big…' something?" Holo shook her head. "No. I was just able to detect them this morning when the cold air descended from the mountains and brought the scent of this man with it. The powerful scent came from that direction." She pointed up and to the left. "This newcomer is coming from there." She simply pointed up at an angle. "However, I cannot say for certain that the two are not connected."

Lawrence didn't like this. Holo's instincts were rarely ever wrong. But the sheer amount of uncertainty she had was what worried him the most. She almost seemed like cornered prey. Even if the predator wasn't hungry, the prey would still be frightened, nonetheless. But what preyed on wolves? Lawrence didn't want to voice these concerns as it might make Holo self-conscious as well as afraid. And she seemed at her limit as it was.

Just then, a knock on the front door sounded and broke the trance the two seemed to be in. Holo looked uneasy. "That is the traveler I spoke of." Why did he come here? He would have had to pass by everything else to get here so fast. Lawrence pondered all this and more as he walked to the door to greet their new guests.

Lawrence opened the door to a fair skinned man, seeming to be in his mid-twenties. He had brown hair and a piercing gaze that seemed to somehow carry no malice, but simply authority. The young man reminded Lawrence of Keiman and Eve. They were two people who, while young, had seemed used to a battlefield and were unphased by big deals as they commanded their forces at hand. This man seemed to be made of the same steel. Just as he thought this, Holo came up behind him in her robes, grabbed his sleeve, and spoke to the guest cheerfully. "Hello traveler. I apologize for my husband just staring at you so awkwardly. We simply find it unusual to have a guest of your demeanor at this time of year. Are you a noble of some sort?"

While Holo was playing the part very well, he could feel her hand shaking as she clutched his sleeve as if it were life itself. What on earth was this man? At Holo's questioning, he spoke, almost as if unsure of what he was saying. "While I am in charge of a few things, I wouldn't say that I'm a noble. I come from a far away land beyond the sea, and sadly know little of the lands customs here." Lawrence saw an opening to ask his own questions. "If you come from across the sea, then how did you come to find our little bathhouse? Surely you had to stop by Kerube or another port town."

The stranger seemed to falter a bit. "I did, but the town was a bit bigger than I had hoped to encounter first. I prefer to become knowledgeable about an area through smaller locations than ask silly questions in big towns." This seemed counterintuitive, and Holo tugged on his sleeve as if to say she knew he was lying. "How did you learn the language? You seem quite proficient for someone from a far away land." At this the newcomer started stumbling over his words.

"Books. I like to read a lot. I have books from many countries and have learned many languages. This is one language from a book such as that. However, I have never used it before out loud, so I am somewhat poor in actually speaking it properly." Lawrence could tell he seemed nervous. But Lawrence was more worried about Holo. "Do you plan on staying at our bathhouse sir?" At this, the young man looked up with a spark of hope in his eyes that almost faded earlier. "Yes, I think I may at that. What are your prices?"

"That will be either one Silver Trenni or three quarters of a Silver Debau for a week's stay." The traveler relaxed a bit. "Here you are sir. Where shall I find the rooms?" Lawrence looked askance at him. Sir, we only expect payment after your stay unless you simply insist on paying early so you can leave quickly. Also, what should I call you sir?" The man looked up with a trace of pride on his face for the first time since beginning the conversation.

"Eragon." At this, Lawrence ceased his interrogation, and again became the master of his bathhouse. "Your room will be this way. Is there anything I can help you with sir?" Eragon thought for a second. "Are there any taverns where I could get some food?" Lawrence was completely thrown off. If this was a business negotiation, he felt he had just lost. "Sir, here in Nyohhira, all of the bathhouses are the taverns. We serve most everything you could ask for and most is included in the price of your stay."

Eragon smiled and held his hand to the back of his head, "I apologize for my lack of knowledge of the area and your customs. Few places do this where I'm from, and bathhouses are not too common." Lawrence smiled back. "Ah. In that case, let the masters of the Spice and Wolf Bathhouse show you a proper welcome to the land." At this, Lawrence took their strange guest to a room leaving Holo behind to ponder what she knew to be off somehow.

"Is there anything I can get for you mister Eragon? We have a decent selection of wines and ales as well as a few options for food before dinner tonight if you are hungry now?" Eragon shook his head. "I think I will save the wine and food for dinner. If it is not too much trouble though, could I have a jug of water please? And a basin too?" Lawrence felt he had thought ahead and asked, "Should I heat it up for you sir?"

Surprisingly, Eragon shook his head. "No thank you sir. Cold water is all I shall need." At this, the odd young man named Eragon closed the door, both figuratively and literally on any more conversation, so Lawrence returned to Holo.

She was still standing in the same place as before. "Holo! Are you alright?" Lawrence asked, alarmed, but in a hushed tone. "He… He smells of that beast I spoke of. Tis not him specifically, but tis no mistaking the scent on him. He also lied about many things. He does not prefer our small village, and he lied about not being a noble. He lied about how he knows our language. Yet he oddly was not lying about his origins. But yet, despite all his avoidance of the truth, he did not smell hostile at all. Even I cannot cover the smell of my intentions." Holo finally moved to embrace Lawrence with her head buried in his chest. "I am so very confused and unsure." He looked down at his wife, unsettled. "I will see to it that we get to the bottom of all of this Holo." For the first time ever, Lawrence was the one who seemed surer of the situation than Holo. At once, he began to doubt how sure he really was.

"Holo, let me handle as many interactions as possible with Eragon. I just need you to listen and smell. And if you sense that powerful… thing, let me know right away." Holo nodded weakly, but tightly clung to Lawrence's arm afterward.

…

In the room, Eragon contacted Saphira. "_You heard and saw everything, right Saphira?_" Saphira replied immediately. "_I did. That girl seemed to fear you the moment the door opened._" Eragon scratched his head. "_I even tried to search her mind, if only on the surface, but her fear was so completely focused on a scent that I couldn't break the barrier._" Saphira's emotions piqued at this. "_I must have missed that. Did you get a scent that you could relay to me, or was it simply that you knew it was a scent at all?_" Eragon answered by transferring the sensation of the scent across their mental link. "_Anything at all Saphira?_"

"_It's… Me. She's scared of me? But, how? I should be out of range of even most Elves' range of smell when it's not magically enhanced. Only proper beasts of the forest should be able to sense me! But this is a strong enough sensation that she clearly smelled me before you even arrived! Eragon, she is not what she seems. However, from her reaction, take care not to scare her further._"

Eragon was shocked by her assessment. "_Ebrithilar, what do you think? Any suggestions on how we should proceed?_" The Eldunari thought for a while before a knock came to the door. It was the master of the bathhouse, Master Lawrence, with the water and basin. "Is there anything else I can get you mister Eragon?" Eragon probed the surface of his mind before he spoke and was surprised to find a concrete understanding of where Saphira was and that Eragon himself only carried the scent. "Uh, oh, uh no. Sir. That will be all I need at the moment. When will dinner be served though?"

Master Lawrence seemed skeptical in his response. "It will be at sundown." And he left the room. "_They certainly are weary of me. However, Master Lawrence seems to be more cautious of me from what his wife thinks, and less his own understanding_." The Eldunari stated their thoughts rather plainly. "_We feel that this Holo is the one we seek. With her mind so guarded, we couldn't tell for certain, but Lawrence clearly is not the one we seek. However, he does seem to know what she is. Eragon, you must find a way to settle their nerves around you, even if you must reveal yourself and Saphira. Ask about their travels, how much they know about countries beyond the sea. Offer tales of our lands as well. But keep it centered on HUMAN tales. It seems that no one believes in Elves, Dwarves, or Urgals here._"

With the conversation completed, Eragon poured a bit of water into the basin and cast the variation scrying spell which allowed him to contact Queen Arya. Just as he did, he could have sworn at that instant, he heard Holo gasp from his room before a bowl shattered. "Eragon, I didn't expect you to be the one to contact me. Is something wrong at Mount Arngor?" Eragon grimaced. "No, Arya. I'm afraid something has come up on my end actually." Her features tensed. "While we have not found what we were searching for, we did find something rather odd. Could you search any and all of the records from your original people who settled in Alagaësia? If any knowledge exists about them, please let me know." Arya responded quickly as ever. "Argetlam, you should know as well as I that the ancestors of the El…"

Eragon quickly hushed her with a motion before casting a quick silencing spell. "I deeply apologize your excellency. I simply realized something that was rather troubling. I think the subject of my conversation might actually be able to hear our conversation." Arya looked disappointed. "Why didn't you shield the room before summoning me? I thought you had learned better." Eragon responded calmly. "When we first arrived here, we discovered there was no magic, no Dragons, and little of much use to the Order. There are none of the other races known to Alagaësia either besides human. And with the masters of the bathhouse I am staying in currently on the first floor, I thought I was safe." Arya's expression softened a bit. "So why did you suddenly stop me?"

"Honestly, it was because I pieced together everything that I knew and made a guess. Just as I made contact with you, I am positive I heard the female owner, Holo, gasp and shatter a plate or bowl downstairs. And when I first arrived at the house, we found that she had smelled Saphira at a longer distance than even Blödhgarm can smell. She could smell her on me and was terrified. While magic does not seem to flow through people in this land quite the same as home, there are quite a few interesting people living here. They seem to be human, but apon inspecting their minds, they seem, animalistic in nature. It's as if they truly are animals who became human. Possibly even the reverse. Even the Eldunari among me can't make heads or tails of it. They seem to possibly be a cousin of Elves, but we can't determine that for sure without breaking into one's mind and taking the information by force just yet. We believe Holo to be one of them."

Arya thought for a moment and responded. "As for your earlier question, you know as well as I that the ancestors of the Elves beyond the ocean are a mystery. As for this woman, Holo, treat her with care. If she does possess magic, she could be a dangerous foe." Eragon shook his head. "All of us agree that she is not dangerous as she is. She is far too afraid of what Saphira is. If she has power, Saphira alone could probably protect us all."

"What do you need from me, Eragon?" He responded with, "If you could at least take a look into any records that involve Elven ancestry of any kind that would be appreciated. And if we find out the information we seek without further terrifying the poor girl, what do you think we should do?" Arya thought long and hard. "If she turns out to be of Elven heritage, present her with an egg. If nothing happens, then nothing happens. But should she become a Rider, Holo may become a powerful asset to us." Eragon nodded. "If that is all, I shall take my leave to look into the Elven ancestry you asked about."

Eragon nodded one more time and ended all the spells in the room. He also cast an unspoken spell to strengthen his hearing. When he did, he heard Holo talking to Lawrence. "While I think I have come to my senses about this newcomer, I am still uneasy. I heard him talking to someone up there in his room while no one else could be sensed. I heard a second voice clear as day. And then all sound just stopped! And I could have sworn he heard me after I smelled great power coming from him. I do not like this. We need to find out more about him." Eragon cut off the flow of magic after this. He looked out the window to see it was approaching sunset. He decided to do the rimgar until dinner.

At dinner, Holo looked right at him and asked, "Was it just me, or did I hear a second person in your room not too long ago?" Eragon tensed. He didn't want to reveal everything right away unless he had to. "No, but I do like to talk to myself a lot. Maybe that's what you heard." With her hearing, Eragon knew she would not take that well. What was making him uneasy though, was how she would periodically glance right at either Saphira's direction, or even more unsettling, the small pocket space hovering right behind him. As they spoke of Eragon's past and the histories of Alagaësia, Holo seemed to be getting more and more frustrated until she finally burst like an overfull waterskin.

"If you're going to talk to us, could you at least do so without seeming to have a secret, mental conversation before you even so much as utter a word! Honestly! I get better conversation out of songbirds!" Eragon froze. "Th… That's not what I'm doing."

It was Holo's turn to freeze before her entire body went limp, except for just enough strength to keep her standing. She looked in stunned silence at Lawrence before uttering these terrifying words. "Lawrence, it was him. He was just now lying."


	3. Explanations

**Explanations**

Holo was grasping at her hood frantically as if this was a bad dream. Lawrence was glaring at Eragon the whole time before pulling a dagger from behind him. "Who, or, what are you! She said you were having secret conversations between each sentence. Is this true!?"

Eragon nodded as he resigned to tell the couple everything. "Please, I honestly mean you no harm at all. The scent you sensed over there, is my Dragon Saphira. She also intends you no harm. I do not know how you were so sure of everything, but I ask that you please calm yourselves." Almost immediately, Holo went from utter panic, to complete confusion. She even had him repeat himself several times over, and in different ways before turning to Lawrence.

"How can he not be lying? Eragon, was it? Normally, I can hear whether or not someone is lying, but given the circumstances, I would rather you offer proof, as the things that should be lies are now coming up true and the truths are coming up false. Dragons? Mindreading? All of this lying and only now you come clean when I find you out? Forgive me if I begin to doubt my own abilities."

Eragon slowly stood from his seat and rested behind the back of it. "To prove that I can indeed see into your mind, could I step inside of yours for but a moment or two?" Lawrence immediately stepped in front of her. "No, but you can inside of mine. It seems she has already fell victim to that before today and it brought her no end of annoyance. If you're only now asking permission, it will be me."

"I do apologize for the earlier intrusion last night. We were looking for more people with similar minds to animals and found a handful in or around this village. We did not gather any information from your mind. We simply confirmed that they existed here." Lawrence began eying his dagger again. "And what do you plan on doing with them if you find one?" He said this with a note of venom in his voice. Eragon took a deep breath. "I would like to simply examine the mind of one for similarities to that of the Elves where I come from. Nothing more unless the heritage is proven. In which case, I will give you a few options, one of which is my exit, never to bother you kind people again."

Holo and Lawrence shared a glance before nodding at each other. "Ok Eragon. You may look into my mind. But stay away from Holo's." Lawrence was still guarding Holo as he said this. Eragon nodded and lightly probed his consciousness. "_This is the touch of another mind. It is actually quite simple in nature, but it is quite rare to be able to do, even in my country._" Lawrence just stared back at Holo, dumbstruck. "Well Eragon, it seems you weren't lying about that. But what about this Dragon of yours?"

Eragon looked at Holo. "Would you allow her into your mind? I promise that she will be as gentle as I was to Lawrence." Holo had a defiant look on her face, but still nodded her approval. "_Saphira, I need you to contact Holo directly._"

"_Miss Holo, I am the Dragon called Saphira. We are the first of the new Order of Dragons and Dragon Riders. We are keepers of peace, even if we have caused you trouble. I apologize for the tactlessness of my partner of heart and mind. He can be rather dense sometimes. If he caused you any undo distress, I will lick him from his toes to his scalp._" Holo watched as Eragon shuttered. Obviously, that wasn't a good thing. "_Is it all males that are such fools, or just ours?_" Holo chuckled as she thought this to Saphira. "Well, although I cannot discern the truth of Saphira's words in my head, my instincts say I can trust her." "So, would you like to meet her in person?" Eragon asked. Lawrence and Holo both nodded in agreement.

Eragon decided to tell them about the Dragon Riders on the way to Saphira. "Dragon Riders are exactly as the name sounds. We ride Dragons. However, it is much deeper than that. The Dragon is bonded to us, and we are bonded to the Dragon. The Dragon chooses its rider through its own set of criteria that isn't always apparent. But once it does, your life is forever changed as a human. You effectively live forever, outside of being killed or getting incurably sick." At this, Holo's ears pricked up so suddenly under her hood that Eragon turned around at the sound. "Is your hood, taller than it was before?"

Holo looked around for a bit before removing her hood and unclasped her robe. Eragon wasn't as dumbfounded as Lawrence and Holo earlier, as he had seen much more drastic transformations in Elesmera. Holo responded to his expression. "You don't seem all that shocked. Almost as if you've seen it before and simply did not expect to find it here. I am indeed the animal incarnation you seek. And that is what we call ourselves, incarnations. I am Holo the Wisewolf. I am also known as Holo of the Wheaten Tail. My essence dwells within the wheat, so I must carry this pouch of wheat around my neck, or I will surely disappear.

"Can you do anything special besides hear and smell like a wolf, miss Holo?" Eragon asked, finally aware of where her unnatural abilities came from. "I can get us to this Dragon of yours faster." Lawrence looked surprised, but Eragon looked impressed. "Is that so? How exactly can you do such a thing? Do you use magic?" Holo chuckled impishly. "Just turn around you." Eragon did as instructed before hearing Holo remove her clothing. Shortly after, he heard the sound of tearing before feeling hot breath on the back of his neck. Lawrence told him to turn around, and he turned to directly face a very large wolf staring him down. Eragon, while surprised to find a wolf in Holo's place, wasn't that surprised at all in the end. "_Are you not curious? Or is this another thing you have seen before?_"

"How should I put this? You're slightly bigger than a Shrrg, but slightly smaller than Saphira at around 7 months old." Holo looked confused. "_How am I smaller than a babe, but larger than whatever the creature you just mentioned was?_" Eragon smiled. "Dragons grow very quickly. A Shrrg is a giant wolf native to the Beor Mountains. They grow to be slightly smaller than you are now." Holo shook her head. "_In any case, get on. I would like to get back to my wine before it becomes too late._" Lawrence waisted no time and helped Eragon up.

Within a few minutes, the three had reached Saphira. Holo was the first to muster up a verbal reaction. "_So, you're what made me feel like prey last night?_" Saphira snaked her head over to the three so she could look Holo in the eye. And when shimmering blue eyes met glowing amber, the two seemed to share an ocean of information. After what seemed like several minutes, Saphira projected her thoughts to the rest of them. "_Well met Dragon's Blood Wolf Holo and Lawrence. Eragon, it seems our earlier assumption may hold merit. There is indeed Elven heritage inside of this one. Although it seems most distorted compared to the Elves' structured mind, the melodies of Elves distinctly play in her mind. She also bears the age of Elves as she is nearing the end of her first millennium._"

"Saphira, that can't be right! Even Elves of only a few hundred years show signs of adulthood. Yet she still looks to be a young girl in her teens." Holo responded for herself to this. "_I am indeed very old. In fact, I am still quite young in terms of others of my kind. Some are closer to two or three times my age, if not older._" Eragon simply slumped on Holo's back. "_Now, as for this Dragon bond or whatever. Could we possibly be given an egg?_"

Eragon and Saphira looked hard at each other and shared a secret conversation. "_You know Arya already said we should. Do you think we should just present them one without any further testing?_" Saphira answered immediately. "_I think they show promise. If an egg does not hatch, then we have lost nothing. But if one does, we may gain something quite new._" Holo shifted under Eragon bringing the conversation back to the group.

Eragon spoke for both of them and for the first time as the leader of the Dragon Riders. "Kraft Lawrence and Wisewolf Holo, we as the leaders of the Order, shall grant your request to be presented with an egg. You will have two weeks around one. If it does not hatch for you in that time span, I cannot promise you another chance without you joining us back to my homeland.

Holo kneaded the ground beneath her. "_I'll take that chance. You have my thanks._" And with that, the trio left Saphira behind and made way for the bathhouse yet again. Lawrence couldn't help but think that Holo seemed to be putting her hopes into this egg for some reason beyond him.

…

Later that night, Lawrence and Holo were in their room. "Holo, why were you so frightened earlier? I mean, I get the feeling of confusion, but that was sheer terror. You had me more worried about you than what you were actually worried about." Holo looked down in frustration. "Tis the same fear any being gets when faced with a predator of higher rank. And in the forests of Yoitsu, there normally were none, which is why I fear nothing. But as Saphira showed up, I… well, you could say I could smell her rank in the food chain. It frightened me because I could not imagine a being besides the Moon Hunting Bear that could prey on wolves so easily. But she is clearly not an incarnation. Tis not an experience I wish to have again."

Lawrence was speechless for a moment before he looked down. "Was I at least any help to you?" Holo looked at him with a mixture of mischief and affection. "Obviously a wolf of my caliber would have figured out a course of action eventually. Your actions were not needed."

But the moment Lawrence turned away, hands clenched, she jumped at him and clung to his arm. "But they were much appreciated. Worry not your fragile male pride. You did well." Holo just smiled up at the frowning Lawrence. "I wish you wouldn't do that."

"Oh, but then you would be bored and helpless for excitement without my charming personality!" she said with a flourish, still one hand around his arm. As he moved to pat her head, she deftly ducked underneath and backed away behind him, her playful grin still on her face. "You're suddenly in a good mood."

Holo just continued smiling. "You may soon understand my happiness, you fool." Lawrence just plastered a self-deprecating smile on his face. "I take it you've already come to the conclusion that I've missed what made you so happy and skipped the argument? Sadly, that also skips the part where I frantically try and realize what I've missed."

Holo's grin took on an ever so slightly more mischievous quality. "Well, you may flap around like a hatchling bird trying to fly if you would like. I do enjoy watching you while flustered. However, consider this a surprise for when it happens." Lawrence conceded defeat and turned his attention to the third 'entity' in the room. The egg.

"So, what exactly do you think we should do with it? I mean, Eragon didn't say how to take care of it really. He only said to not try and harm it. How would you handle an egg Holo?" She looked thoughtful for a moment before a bright smile came on her face. "I would crack it open and cook it over a fire!"

Lawrence couldn't help the surprise and horror that came to his face before Holo began cackling. "I do, I do so love that face of yours! Hahahaha!" Holo had to wipe a tear from her eye before she could continue. "No, just leave it there. Right where it is."

"On my nightstand? That's where you want to keep it?" Lawrence questioned. Holo looked impish. "I carried our child inside of me for far too long and you dare to complain about keeping an egg on a piece of wood?" She flashed a challenging smile that dared him to respond. All Lawrence could do was sigh and sit on the bed.

Holo swiftly made for the bed and got behind Lawrence, draping herself over his shoulder. "And when it hatches, twill be like our second child."

"I barely survived the first one." To this, Holo snickered. "But now you have practice. You should be fine. Just ensure you love it in these two weeks so it will hatch."


	4. A New Arrival

**A New Arrival**

Eragon woke the next morning and contacted Saphira. This time, he kept the whole conversation mental, so as to not need to cast a silencing spell, as that still would alert Holo to his intentions of hiding something from her. "_Saphira, what did you learn about our most peculiar friend last night?_" Saphira took no time to answer. "_She made me promise not to share much of it, but she is indeed quite old. After seeing me, she entrusted me with knowledge of something called The Moonhunting Bear and that it's mate still roams this earth. A being so massive, it slaughtered her entire pack and most every other incarnation in the world. Only recently have they been returning to the world._"

Eragon stroked his chin in thought. "_Does this have any significance for us?_" Saphira thought for a moment on this before answering. "_I do not think so. I assume she told me for the possibility of its return. She stated that the Moonhunting Bear was killed some time ago and its mate promised to never again return. However, she still worries some nights that it may forget its promise after so long, just as she forgot the way to her own home._"

"_So, this thing could be a problem, but it may very well turn out to be nothing?_" Eragon asked. "_Exactly. I also learned that she has much the same fears as you did when you became a Rider, and learned to a painful degree, exactly what it means to be immortal. But don't tell her I told you that. I just felt you should know._"

"_If she's already been immortal for so long…_" Eragon's mind trailed off there as realization set in on her situation. Saphira chimed in once she was confident his mind had reached the proper solution. "_She doesn't have others like the Elves do. And the few like her are not ones she would enjoy spending her days with. For her, Lawrence who is already approaching the end of his life in her eyes, will be gone far too soon and leave her alone with her sadness. She would almost rather not know happiness than have it only briefly._"

"_Now it all makes sense._" Lawrence said.

…

Lawrence and Holo woke early the next morning. They did have a guest after all. Lawrence went to check the baths, while Holo went to help Miss Hanna in the kitchen. Holo also had Selim go to the village oven to bake the bread. She had goaded Lawrence earlier into paying for the ingredients for fluffy wheat bread instead of the harder kind. Since Holo had been in a rather good mood since late the night before, he didn't have the heart to tell her no. As a result, the Spice and Wolf Bathhouse had a few grand dinners for three over the next few days.

Every day, Holo would also insist on stopping the chores for a while to care for the egg with Lawrence, stating that Selim and Miss Hanna could handle them for a bit. And every night, she would hold the egg for a few minutes before having Lawrence hold it the rest of the time until they decided to fall asleep. This continued every day for a little over a week.

Finally, four days before the end of their two weeks with the egg while in their room before bed, Holo began getting frustrated for reasons that Lawrence couldn't fully understand. "Holo, what's wrong? I know that the egg hasn't hatched yet, but it's not as if we could really continue our lives here if it were to hatch for us. How would we feed it once it even became the size of you? Eragon said that would happen in just a few months. We might as well sign over rights to Miss Hanna and Selim, while inviting Aram back to help out."

To this, Holo began to pout as if he had missed some obvious truth. "It's the same thing I missed last week isn't it?" Lawrence asked. Holo only nodded, slightly annoyed. "Could you at least give me a hint?" Holo just glared at him without much force, but still enough to convey her emotions. Then she finally spoke, albeit softly, as if the words she spoke were heard, her wish wouldn't come true. "I… NEED… this egg to hatch. You understand why, don't you?" Holo looked at Lawrence longingly.

Just as Holo was beginning to seem truly upset and hurt by his lack of understanding, the reasoning finally took root in his mind. "Ah! I'm so sorry Holo. That's why you were so set on this. I wasn't even thinking about Dragons and Dragon riders living forever. You were hoping to finally have someone by your side forever. And this Dragon is probably your last hope at getting that." Holo's face started to regain its regular shine.

"But if it doesn't hatch for you, then you will be in the same situation as before." Almost immediately, Holo's shining face dulled into a cool rage, and she smacked him hard enough on his head that he hit the ground. "Holo! What on earth was that for?"

"Tis for being far too foolish! Do you really think that I wanted the egg to hatch for me, and my own sake?! Do you really think I'd want a Dragon as my lifelong companion!? Honestly! No, I want the Dragon to hatch for YOU, MY MATE! And all you could come up with after more than a week is that I wanted ANOTHER being to keep me company? Why is it that I love so dearly such a foolish male?"

With that last sentence, there truly was nothing he could say to her rantings without seeming insensitive to her. But all the same, it dug at him to his core. Holo truly loved him, but his thoughtlessness was clearly causing her pain. Maybe with enough time, he could come to understand her, but he would need to have lived far longer for that to come to pass. He was only scratching the surface of the machinations of Holo's mind.

At this realization, he got down on his knees in front of Holo after she sat down on the bed in frustration, and he took her hand. "Holo, I'm obviously not the best at this sort of thing. I'm clueless, I don't notice things you find obvious, I can't explain things you find simple, and countless other things you would probably say if I were to have you add to this list." Lawrence looked somewhat sternly at Holo when she annoyedly attempted to do just that, and she closed her mouth. "But you must keep in mind that I haven't lived as long as you have. I have also lived a very different life. Only in the past ten years have I become social. But for the twenty-five before that, I wasn't keen on interacting more than necessary. You are far beyond my skill, interpersonally. Please, give me some credit that I'm at least learning more about you and making headway, even if I'm still hopelessly behind you."

"Well, you have improved. Somewhat at least." Holo sighed. "But you are right. I have vastly more experience than you do. Still, you should be better than this, honestly! I've had better interactions with human babies. But I guess tis to be expected from a merchant whose sole focus is on profit and loss." Holo lowered her head theatrically, at which Lawrence took her hand again.

"And I don't want to lose you. So, I must find a way to make you profit, even at my expense." Holo looked blankly at Lawrence, as if deciding if she wanted to laugh or hug him. The edges of her mouth were twitching as she seemed to be battling internally. Eventually she chose the hidden option of gathering him up as close as possible while laughing hysterically. A few tears even leaked out from the corners of her eyes.

"Yes, that is indeed rich! But I appreciate your words, you hopeless fool. Thank you for saying them to me." Holo beamed her brightest smile. Lawrence just smiled weakly before collapsing his head into her lap with a sigh, defeated.

Oddly, she didn't torment him for such a thing. Instead, stroking the back of his head. However, her attention wasn't entirely on him. She spoke almost in a whisper. "Lawrence my dear. Tis moving. The egg! You must go to it and reach your hand out like the man said." Lawrence moved towards the egg in preparation for what was coming. The emerald green egg, with white veins throughout the surface, was rocking violently in unrhythmic motions.

Suddenly, it stopped, as if catching its breath. Then in a series of violent rocks, it fell from the end table, only just barely being caught by Lawrence, who placed it on the ground, gingerly. It quickly resumed its rocking, faster and harder than ever before. At long last, an emerald foot with ivory claws broke free of the egg's exterior wall. When the foot went back inside the egg, it was quickly replaced by a snout of a slightly darker shade of emerald green than the foot. The snout seemed to sniff as if getting an idea of what it was about to break.

Then in a series of mighty kicks and headbutts, the Dragon broke free of the egg and looked like the most satisfied being in the world. But for all its satisfaction, the Dragon seemed quite regal. Noble in fact. It was as if having just been born meant nothing to a Dragon which seemed to possess lifetimes of knowledge of how to behave elegantly. It seemed to Lawrence, capable of running a castle of its own, it seemed so dignified. After the Dragon, still covered in a film of mucus from the egg, finished taking in the area, it gracefully flapped its wings to take it the short distance to the top of the end table so it could see out of the window. While up there, the Dragon soaked up the moon while elegantly perched on the windowsill.

Holo had seemed to forget to breath the whole time and gasped a few times as it looked out at the moon. "Lawrence, approach it and hold out your hand." As he did what he was instructed to do, the Dragon looked annoyed at him. When Lawrence's hand was nearing the Dragon, it almost bit him. Lawrence recoiled. "I don't think it likes me too much." Holo's face stiffened. With each passing second, Holo's expression turned from confusion, to fear and sadness. The Dragon was approaching HER!

Finally, it jumped onto the bed on Holo's right side. Holo extended her hand to the Dragon reluctantly. With very little hesitation on the Dragon's part, the two connected, head and hand. Instantly, Holo grew stiff and started vibrating as if being shocked by lightning. Her face contorted in extreme pain, but she didn't cry out. Eventually, she collapsed onto the bed. The only thing that kept Lawrence from dashing to her side to see if she was alive was the information given by Eragon when he gave them the egg. He knew this would happen.

After setting Holo in a proper position to sleep, and the Dragon had chosen to nuzzle close to her neck, Lawrence quickly sought after Eragon. For the first time since he arrived, Lawrence found Eragon in the baths. "Mister Eragon?"

"I know what happened. Come join me, please. We have a lot to discuss." Lawrence started wringing his hands and replied. "No, I couldn't. Not right now." Eragon was insistent. Even becoming more authoritative with his words. "Master Lawrence. I insist. Join me in the baths as cooler heads can prevail in hot baths like yours." Lawrence finally conceded and stepped into the baths after donning a towel.

"Mister Eragon, what do I do now? Holo wanted the egg to hatch for me, but it only hatched for her. While I'm happy that she now has a companion for the rest of her life, she wanted me to be her companion for life. I'm concerned she may hate the Dragon for not choosing me. I just want her to be happy."

Eragon thought long and hard before responding. "She could no easier cut off her tail than stay resentful of that Dragon for very long. A few weeks, a month maybe? Sure. But she will grow to love her Dragon in not too dissimilar of a manor to how she loves you. That Dragon will literally become apart of her mind itself. I've witnessed new Riders who literally hated Dragons, become some of the best of the Order due to the bond they share. They never last more than a month hating their Dragon. And a Dragon bonds the moment contact is made, so one could never truly hate their rider. It's as if the Dragon never loses sight of what made them choose in the first place."

While Lawrence felt a little better, he was still uneasy. "But what can I do for her? Obviously, without being given another egg, it's not like I can just, try again. And there's not a way we know of to make me live as long as her. I'm at a loss right now." Lawrence leaned back and covered his face with his hands.

"Master Lawrence. You actually can help her. You can help her come to know her Dragon, so she accepts it faster and builds stronger bonds. The quicker a lasting bond is established, the stronger it is. While this doesn't indicate the strength of the pair together, it does signal the strength their bond will achieve. By helping her to achieve her bond more quickly, you can ensure that she will have a lifelong partner who will always know what is ailing her and how to best fix it."

Lawrence looked up at that. Could he even do that now? "How long does that sort of thing usually take to build up, mister Eragon?" Eragon looked thoughtful. "It can be as little as a few months, as was the case with me and Saphira, and as long as a few years, as was with our most tragic pair. The longer you take to understand your partner, the worse it gets on your mental strain. It can almost drive you mad, knowing there's someone else inside your head at all times and can know you better than anyone, when you somewhat resent them for existing."

"I thought you just said they went on to be one of your best pairs?" Lawrence asked. "I wasn't referring to them. This pair lasted a month and a half before truly beginning their bond. However, it was more a melding of the minds on a physical level than a bonding of beings, heart, mind, and soul. It drove the pair mad and we had to personally put the two down when they burned down a village that imprisoned his wife."

Lawrence swallowed at that. "Why was she imprisoned." Eragon looked sad. "We never found out. We had to put them down fast in order to protect a few children that remained. They obviously didn't know, so we chose not to ask them. And we had to put down the pair before they could harm the children, so we couldn't get answers out of them easily. This was an elf Dragon pair, so they were experienced in magic. Certain things were taught to them that made them dangerous even with my power. If I'm not mistaken, they were much like your wife. The elf had fallen for a human woman, not chosen by Dragons, and wanted the egg, which was being paraded through the city, to choose her. But it didn't and chose him instead. Lawrence, please ensure this doesn't happen again." Eragon seemed to plead with him.

"I will do my best."


	5. Brimisi

**Brimisi**

When Holo woke the next day, the sun was high in the sky. Lawrence was waiting beside their bed for her. "Mmmfff. My head… feels strange. Tis as if I am drunk, but I seem more aware of the world than before."

"_How should I put it? Please don't hate the Dragon?_"

"Of course I wouldn't hate the Dragon, Lawrence! Just because it chose me doesn't mean I can hate it!" Lawrence looked stunned. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Holo asked, annoyed. "Well, spit it out already!"

"Uh, um, I didn't… actually, say anything, Holo." Lawrence finally managed to stammer out. Holo was confused. "But you clearly said, in that adorably unsure voice of yours, 'please don't hate the Dragon,' and I simply responded." Lawrence brought his hand to his chest as he doubled over. "Holo! I thought that! I didn't say it out loud!"

Holo immediately assumed Lawrence's current doubled over posture while clutching her head in her hands, when a light knocking sounded on the door. "Master Lawrence. Lady Holo. May I come in and explain what is going on? I could hear you from downstairs." Holo opened the door for their guest, regaining composure before he entered.

"I know you must be somewhat confused here, but you now, like all Dragon Riders, possess the ability to read minds." Holo looked calm, but Lawrence was clearly anything but. "Is there something wrong Master Lawrence?" Lawrence gathered himself a bit before responding. "It's only that she might as well already be able to do that with her abilities. Now that she definitively can, even my own thoughts aren't safe if I want to avoid certain things with Holo." Holo looked down, slightly hurt by his words.

"I… I wouldn't just do it if I could control it Lawrence. Messing with you is one thing. I am but guessing at what you are truly thinking and taking a gamble as to whether or not I am right. I may be right more often than not, but I still can be wrong. I wouldn't want to violate you like that so as to take the privacy of your very mind Lawrence. Believe me." Holo seemed to be pleading with him as she spoke. "_I want…_" Lawrence's thoughts began. "NO! How do I stop!" At once, Eragon surrounded Holo's mind with his own.

"Holo, your thoughts are now a physical part of what you are now. They have a force and almost a weight of their own. You can use your thoughts to hold someone just as you can hold them down with your hands. By willing your mind to do something, it will do it. Just now, you probably felt something along the lines of wanting to go to Lawrence and felt a need to physically restrain yourself, correct?" Holo nodded, almost in tears. "Without meaning to, you accidentally extended your consciousness towards Lawrence and began reading his mind. You stopped when you came back to yourself, not wanting to read his mind without his permission. In time, you will learn how to control it while still feeling the same things you have today."

Holo looked at Eragon with extreme urgency. "Please, teach me! I can't betray my mate's trust. He is all I have." Lawrence immediately moved to embrace her. "Holo, if you tell me you won't intentionally do it, then I will believe you! Just promise me that much, ok? Promise that you won't intentionally read my mind, and everything will be fine!" He squeezed her tightly as he spoke. Holo just sobbed as she repeated, over and over again that she promised.

It was at this point that the Dragon, content earlier to sit on the bed quietly, now seemed to have enough of Holo's sadness and jumped into her lap. While it didn't push Lawrence away, it clearly wasn't happy that he wasn't calming her down much. Lawrence pulled away and spoke. "Your Dragon really doesn't seem to like me much, does it?"

Holo, finally getting ahold of herself, spoke rather sternly to the Dragon. "Now you listen here you! This is my mate! I chose him long before you chose me, so you had better treat him well if you want to eat! Understand?" The Dragon regally raised its head from Holo's lap, a questioning look on its face. "Ugh. How do I make a baby understand?" She said almost slapping her forehead.

"Eragon. You're our expert here. How do I get this little runt to understand its place?" She asked, annoyed. "Well, it doesn't understand spoken language very well yet. Impress apon it with your mind, your intentions. As time goes by, teach it the meaning of words by showing it the feeling you get from each one. Don't just say, 'bread, it's a thing you eat.' Otherwise the Dragon will assume bread is simply the word to use for food. Impress apon it the taste of bread, the smell, the appearance. Everything you feel about it, show it to your Dragon. In a matter of weeks, you will be able to speak with your Dragon and not to it. Speaking of which, your Dragon is female. Do you have a name?"

Holo sat up straight. "I didn't even think of that." Eragon interrupted. "Well, you don't have to think of one immediately. I didn't name Saphira for several days."

"I will discuss that with Lawrence. This Dragon might as well be our new child after all." Eragon was quick in his response to that. "No. A Dragon is far from your newest child or pet. You both saw Saphira, correct. And how I treated her? If you treat a Dragon as if they were a child or a pet to you, that is going to spell disaster for you and your bond with her. This Dragon is your equal in every way. I hope you understand that." The force of his words did indeed seem to reach Holo, as she now looked curiously at the Dragon curled up on her lap with new eyes than before.

"As for her name, while Lawrence very well could have input, that is a very personal thing between a Rider and Dragon. The Rider doesn't simply choose the name. The Dragon also has to accept it." Holo was still staring at her Dragon intently. Eventually, she whispered something. The Dragon's head stirred. Holo said it again, just as softly where no one else could hear. The Dragon looked almost happy, which made Holo smile in return.

"Holo, what did you say to her?" Lawrence asked. She beamed at him as she said, "I just told her what her new name is. That was all." Lawrence, after waiting for her to tell them, started motioning his hand for more information. "Aaaaaannd?"

"Oh, you didn't ask what it was. Just what I said to her. Her name is Brimisi. Twas a unique name in Yoitsu so long ago that I nearly forgot. Tis a name only given to the most noble of pups, showing the most promise for leading the pack. In all my years, I've only met one. Brimisi here seems quite noble herself, as well as I have high expectations of her after she defied my will and chose me instead of you. She has a lot to live up to, now that she has received this name."

Brimisi sat up straight, neck arched gracefully, and looked straight into Holo's eyes with intensity as if sealing the promise of a lifetime. Holo just looked back and nodded before smiling at Lawrence. "She understands what this name means, it seems.

"Well in that case, I should begin training you as requested. You don't want to continue entering into people's minds without permission, do you?" Eragon asked. Holo shook her head violently. "No, but do you have any tips to keep me in my own mind for now? I would like to spend at least a little time with Brimisi and Lawrence."

"You can do one of two things actually. First, be very conscious of your desires right now, as they are almost indistinguishable from your mental abilities. If you ever begin to sense more than your own body, consciously decide to return to yourself. Second." Eragon paused for a moment. "Secondly, we could make you swear in the Ancient Language that you won't read Lawrence's mind before you can control your own without his permission. That is a promise which physically can't be broken as one can't lie when they speak that language. It is a magical language possessing such properties. There is more to it than that, but I can teach you the words to speak if you would like."

Surprisingly, it was Lawrence who responded to this. "I think the first one should do for now. I believe Holo when she promised earlier. Plus, this will give her practice doing it for herself without being bound by some magical promise. Holo, I trust you. And as long as you don't intentionally do it, and you don't hold my own thoughts against me, then I promise I won't get mad or distrust you if it happens by accident."

Holo smiled back at him grandly. "You again have my word as a Wisewolf. I will not intentionally do such a thing to you. But you may just have to forgive Brimisi. She seems to not have understood that promise and simply dives into my mind looking for scraps of knowledge as if it were food."

"_!_"

"I think she might have actually been looking for the word for food to tell me she was hungry." Lawrence grabbed his head. "Yah, I felt it too. It felt ravenous. I'll go and get some of the leftover meat from last night. You should teach Brimisi to use her indoor thinking voice." This brought a mischievous smile to Holo's face. "Yes, the person who just asked for help in controlling her abilities, while almost in tears, should be the one to teach a girl who just hatched last night. Might as well ask the blind to lead the blind around town while you are at it." Holo rolled her eyes at Lawrence's slight annoyance. "I think I will join Master Lawrence downstairs and step into the baths for now. Please, call for me if you need anything Lady Holo."

While Lawrence was downstairs, Holo picked up Brimisi and studied her. She was a curious little thing. Her scales reminded Holo of various reptiles she had seen, while the wings reminded her more of bats. The spikes coming off of her neck were entirely new though. They reminded her of bull horns, but far shinier and deadly looking. They were clearly not simple horns. Dragons were truly odd creatures.

Soon enough, Lawrence returned with several strips of pork from the night before, each one a bit longer than his hand. Brimisi, after seeming to ask permission from Holo, pranced right over to Lawrence to eat. Lawrence brought about five strips of meat, as the Dragon seemed to be no larger than the average housecat.

Brimisi snapped the first piece happily. Even squealing in delight as she swallowed the pork. "It seems she likes it Holo." Lawrence said. Holo just beamed as if she were a mother again. "Well, she did pick me. How could we not be similar in our tastes?" Holo said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Brimisi showed no signs of slowing down, even as she ate the last piece. Then, Brimisi seemed to impress apon Lawrence the hunger she still had from inside his mind. While he still wasn't very comfortable with people inside his head, he was willing to at least tolerate it with Holo and Brimisi as long as they didn't abuse it.

"Brimisi, I will need you not to do that." Lawrence said sternly. Brimisi looked at Holo for a minute before Holo spoke. "I'm not entirely sure as it seems she 'talks' right now using images and feelings, but she could gather that you obviously don't want her in your head. However, she can't 'talk' to you any other way. I mean, she does have to communicate with us somehow."

"I just don't like having a mind reader be able to see all of my thoughts at once. Maybe Eragon has a trick for me. Or something I can get that will shield my thoughts." Holo taunted him over that. "Like what? A magic hat that stops all thoughts from penetrating your mind? Your thick skull should have done the trick, yet look at all the good that did you. Honestly, humans can come up with the weirdest things sometimes."

"You've seen the things Eragon can do! He contacts elves at great distances, has a magic language that we can't lie in, and all while having a Dragon bigger than our bathhouse as his best friend. And you criticize me for thinking it would be possible I could get a hat to shield my thoughts from you and your Dragon?" Lawrence defended.

Holo looked down, somewhat upset. "But I promised I wouldn't do so without your permission on purpose. I even agreed to not use whatever I may find. Do you not truly believe me?" Lawrence could tell that this was no mere act. He knew he had to think fast.

"It's not that Holo. Say we get more comfortable with this and you step into my head more frequently. You could just see everything. But if I know how to either hide personal feelings or opinions, or possibly have something that just keeps everything out altogether, then I would simply feel better about it. There are so many ways I'm defenseless against you and your kind. While I don't truly fear you as I did in the past, I'm still not too keen on being on the ground while you're in your wolf form nearby. One careless move and something bad could happen. Now don't take that as me not trusting you, otherwise I wouldn't get near you after you transform. But these are still thoughts I have. Now that you can read minds too, it's just one more thing to add to the list of how I can never compare to you. I just worry about how I can continue to aid you when the list of differences just keeps adding up. I don't relate to you in any way but appearance. I can't stop you, I can't help you, and I can't even continue living with you in a short time from now for you."

Holo was shocked by the depth of his feelings. They clearly weren't coming simply from today. This had been boiling over for a while now and finally burst with this most recent addition. "I'm sorry Lawrence. I didn't ask for any of this you know." Lawrence looked worried about her, but she kept him quiet with a look. "I didn't ask to be a wolf. I was born this way. I didn't ask to live this long, but I was given two ways now in which I will. I didn't ask to be able to read minds, but here we are today, finding out that I now can do that as well. I never wanted to be feared by anything except my prey, so to hear that you at least trust me not to hurt you even as you are uneasy does bring my heart some measure of comfort. And you are simply wrong about not being able to help me. True, you can't hunt as well as, well, anything really. And you may not understand much of how my abilities work in order to relate better. But you are the only one who can help me with the things I need most. Love, companionship, battling my depression. All of these are things ONLY you can assist me with. As for living as long as me, at least you have given me my journal. I can read my memories when my mind fails me. You care so much as to constantly wish me happiness at the cost of your own. Please do not fear this new thing I can now do. It only makes me feel even more different and separate from you, and I don't want that. With your permission, I would like us, all three of us, to explore this together. Do you mind?"

"What exactly do you mean?" Lawrence asked, slightly unsure. "I would like for myself and Brimisi to both enter into your mind and let you inside of ours as deeply as we can and get to know the feeling. If you say no, I will not ask again. I promise." Lawrence looked scared, but seemed to steel himself at the last second. "The same promise from earlier applies. No using anything against me."

"Then I shall impose the same restriction on you as well." Holo said as she chuckled a bit. "Shall we begin my dear?" To which Lawrence simply nodded his head and closed his eyes. Holo looked at Brimisi as she entered into her mind to explain what she wanted. She impressed hugging Lawrence, followed by the felling of enveloping Brimisi's mind so as to give the impression of doing to same to Lawrence. When it seemed she understood, she did the same thing in reverse, with Lawrence hugging her and Brimisi, and enveloping her mind. Brimisi seemed to not like the idea, but strode gracefully forward, towards Lawrence.

Just before entering Lawrence's mind with Brimisi, Holo impressed, 'gently,' onto her Dragon. She seemed to already understand that somehow. The two gingerly stretched out their consciousnesses towards Lawrence until they made contact. Brimisi stopped as soon as Holo did. It seemed she was content to let Holo take the full lead here as she watched for a signal to continue. "I can feel you at the corners of my mind. Why did you stop?" Lawrence asked. "I just want to do this right and not overwhelm you." Holo said hesitantly. "Well, I'd rather you just do it than drag it out. I'll let you know if you need to leave my mind."

With that, Holo and Brimisi continued their entry into Lawrence's consciousness. The first thing Holo noticed, as it didn't seem Lawrence was hiding anything, if he even could, was that almost everything in his mind was tinted with thoughts of Holo. His trading was tinged with thoughts of whether he could still buy her apples later. His selling factored in if he made enough to repair her favorite island spot in the hot springs. Even his sleep was colored by thoughts of how well she was sleeping and if she was too hot or cold. There didn't seem to be any real fear of her. Even in watching his memories flow in front of her, she could see those 'fears' as he called them earlier, were completely rational from his perspective. One misstep on her part and she could kill him. It was the same with her and Saphira. While she no longer 'feared' Saphira, she still wondered just how easy it would be if she decided to turn on her and her mate.

Holo wasn't the least bit surprised by the sense of balance in Lawrence's mind. It was as if his mind itself were a set of scales. It made her chuckle a bit in amusement. "_What did you find? Why are you laughing?_" Lawrence asked in annoyance. "_Calm yourself my dear. I was merely amused by the order of your mind. It seems it is set up exactly as you would a shop. I did not quite expect a mind to quite behave in the same manor one lives is all._" That seemed to calm the alert Holo could now clearly sense from him. Even clearer than had she smelled it.

She then turned her attention to Brimisi, who seemed to take delight in seeing his memories where Holo was concerned. Particularly the ones where he took care of her. Even as young as she was, Brimisi was a very kind and caring being. Holo started feeling quite proud of her Dragon, but in a different way than that of a mother. It made her curious. As she felt that, she recognized something else in Lawrence she hadn't noticed before. It was something that was clearly new and budding in the corner of his mind. She prodded at it with her consciousness as it was not permeating everything else already and needed to be accessed directly. What she found was a blooming love and care for Brimisi. Underlying that was a trust clearly connected to his deep love and trust of Holo, herself.

"_You love and trust Brimisi because you love and trust me?_" Holo thought this reflexively, before even realizing that Lawrence would hear. But by the time the realization struck, he already knew. "_Well of course. I trust your instincts. I trust YOU. And if you trust her, why shouldn't I? As for the love, she's your Dragon. Clearly, she's going to be sticking around. So, I might as well get to liking her. Plus, besides being a little bossy with food, she hasn't done anything to lose my trust. So why should I not? If you're going to be raising her, I can expect her to learn a thing or two about messing with me, true. But I can CLEARLY expect her to learn all about loyalty, just as you taught our daughter. So again, I'm positive I can trust her if you're raising her. So yes, my love and trust in her is based on my love and trust in you._"

The two pulled out of Lawrence right then. Lawrence was surprised to see Holo in tears. She even seemed a little surprised to find her face wet herself. "Oh! My goodness. I'm crying all of a sudden? Where did that come from?" Lawrence looked only minorly concerned. "What's wrong Holo? Did you see something that upset you?" Holo looked astonished at his question. "How could I possibly find something displeasing in that mind of yours? I color your every thought! Your business, your trust in others, your day to day life! It's all about me! If anything, this has made me love you even more. And now, I'm more hesitant to let you inside of my mind, knowing you haven't colored me the same way." Holo looked embarrassed, and not in a cute or humble way, either.

"Holo, I didn't even realize that you colored me to quite that extent. Hear my words for any lies. Do I speak the truth?" Holo nodded reluctantly without meeting his gaze. "Well then doesn't it stand to reason that you may be similarly colored by me? That you may not realize the extent to which I've invaded your mind? I think it's possible. And even if it isn't the case, I was the one to pine after you for a whole trade route after all when you didn't want this. It's only natural I would have the stronger feelings." He said this with such an arrogant expression that she wanted to hit him. But the realization of the strength of her emotions brought with it a certain comfort to Holo. She wouldn't feel so strongly if she didn't care as deeply for him as he cared for her. He was teasing her for exactly that purpose.

"Are you ready for me to enter into your mind?" Holo nodded. "Then please bring me in if you can." Holo reached out for his mind and attempted to grab on while still retreating into her own mind. After a time, Lawrence was successfully in her mind, but he stayed put. Nothing happened. "_Lawrence, are you too in shock to move?_" Lawrence was quite sarcastic in his reply. "_Hardly. I can't move. Either you'll have to show me everything, or we'll have to figure something else out._"

Just as Holo was about to let him go, Brimisi acted on her own and seized control of Lawrence's mind from Holo and started guiding him around. Lawrence could tell that it wasn't malicious or out of impatience. She could simply understand from the color of his mind that he just couldn't do what she and her rider could do and decided to help. Brimisi began to show him Holo's thoughts of fear that Lawrence wouldn't be there when she next woke up. Her fears of letting Lawrence be her caretaker for too long, lest she forget how to care for herself. Her worries of Lawrence's aging body giving out when he most needed his strength. But the commonality across every thought, every memory, every sensation, was the overwhelming love and security she felt whenever he crossed her mind. Even if those feelings turned dark from thoughts of the future, she still felt better simply by thinking of him. Finally, similarly to what Holo found in his own mind, there was a budding segment of thought off in the distance that Brimisi seemed to take delight in leading Lawrence too. When breached, it showed that Holo decided to care for Brimisi because of Lawrence.

Oddly, that's where he started to feel and understand, from Brimisi herself, where her poor attitude towards him came from. Holo hadn't accepted Brimisi based on her alone. She accepted Brimisi based on her feelings towards Lawrence. And it burned Brimisi inside. But after seeing both of their memories in such detail, Lawrence could feel that resentment being replaced by a calm acceptance and understanding. She could feel why it was so, and she had decided to feel differently about Lawrence.

It was then that Brimisi pulled out of Holo's mind and released Lawrence's. Lawrence almost staggered, despite already being seated. The weight of both consciousnesses weighed heavily on him as he understood what he just saw. He truly did color Holo's every thought, just in a different manor. However, he was finally accepted by a Dragon who literally just hatched last night after sharing ten years' worth of experiences with it. No, with her. He finally saw Brimisi as a sentient and intelligent being worthy of recognition for who and what she was. He couldn't go back to seeing Brimisi as some animal that had caused more problems for Holo anymore. She was apart of this family. Although what role she was to play was still being decided. All he knew at the moment was that he could finally console Holo on her fears of not considering him in the same way as he did her.

"Holo. You were dead wrong, and I love you for it.


	6. Troubling News

**Troubling News**

The time in Brimisi's mind was far shorter, as she hadn't been hatched for even twenty-four hours yet, but it was still telling. The depth of noble grace seemed to genuinely be apart of her very being as if genetic instinct itself had colored her memories. She had finally understood love and loyalty from her experiences in Lawrence and Holo's minds and saw them both as individuals worthy of respect. It took a bit to understand that, considering everything was a feeling, instinct, or a sensation, but her mind was sharp and clear.

After talking together for a while, Lawrence and Holo made for Eragon. He was just leaving the baths. "Master Lawrence. Lady Holo. Have you found what you were looking for in your time together?" Eragon seemed genuinely interested. Holo nodded. "Yes, we did." And she clung tightly to Lawrence's arm. "But we do have a few questions for you. Is there a way for my dear Lawrence to guard his mind, possibly just a few parts of it, so that he is not laid bare before me if I slip in my thoughts? Should he possess an item or is there a method he can use to do such a thing? If this is ignorant, I apologize, but we have little understanding of how this works. Even Brimisi seems to understand more than us. However, her conversational skills seem to be… how should I put this? Somewhat lacking in vocabulary."

Eragon laughed grandly. "Oh, no! It's not ignorant at all. I was much the same way when I first became a rider. Magic and all things Dragon Rider related were very foreign to my way of life. I knew about as much as you, and had it not been for my father, I wouldn't be standing here before you. As for an item, yes. You can use such things, however, they will work differently depending on what type of item is used. For instance, if you use a gemstone, it will hold a set amount of power given to it until that power is used up. But if you use a stone or precious metal however, it will draw its power from the wearer until the aggressor stops trying to gain entrance to your mind, or worse, you die from loss of energy. The same can happen if the gemstone doesn't contain enough power though. However, this blocks a person entirely from your mind and not certain parts. Any spells I could cast to protect specific parts of your mind would be, by nature, imperfect and have many loopholes to exploit."

"So, there's no way besides keeping her out completely to protect myself?" Lawrence asked? "I hadn't actually finished my explanation. Lady Holo asked about two methods, did she not? The first option she asked about is far more difficult, but does exactly as asked. You can learn to guard your mind as we do on your own. Even without having our abilities, although that does make things simpler, you can safeguard your mind from entry by thinking of only one thing to the exclusion of all else. Even one slip will let the enemy gain entry if done poorly. Would you like to try?"

Lawrence and Holo quickly nodded their agreement. "Then let us begin." Eragon First began with Lawrence, as he was who was most concerned with guarding his mind. He created an ironclad defense in an instant by simply thinking of Holo. Eragon was surprised that he couldn't find a single gap to slip into. Even when he physically pushed Lawrence to put him mentally off balance, his thoughts shifted to thinking of Holo in a more protective manor, while never actually letting the defense slip. It was rather impressive. Guarding specific parts of his mind was almost impossible for him though. He couldn't seem to grasp, not thinking at all about what he wanted to hide after segmenting his mind and only thinking of Holo in that portion. Thinking back, Eragon realized that was a rather difficult prospect to teach someone who didn't have mental abilities like the Riders.

Holo on the other hand, seemed to be able to segment her mind with ease, but couldn't completely fortify her mind against unwanted intrusion. After almost an hour of trying, they stopped the training. Eragon had a few suspicions. "Lady Holo. I've been concerned about something for a while now. I've come to understand that the reason I couldn't obtain clear numbers for how many incarnations life in this region was due to your ability to transform. It seems the very nature of your mind changes as well as the nature of your body. I'm worried about the effect that might have on your bond with Brimisi. While Elves change their appearance all the time, their mind always remains the same. Your mind however, changes depending on your form. It's as if you have two different minds."

Holo looked up in confusion. "Are you saying that this could be harmful to my bond with Brimisi?" Eragon shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know for certain. The bond is clearly both mental and magical. But it's also physical. In time, you will grow to literally feel the pain of your Dragon. While I don't feel any magical change in your body when you transform, the other two parts of a Dragon and Dragon Rider bond are clearly being tampered with. I don't know what could happen exactly, but it's at least cause for concern. I would recommend not transforming for as long as possible until I can look into this further. I've never heard of a bond being broken before, but never before have two of the three ties of the bond been changed, if not severed completely before. I would be careful with this for now."

Holo looked horrified. Even with this bond only lasting less than a day, she was already appalled at the thought of losing it. But it made sense that she had two different minds and bodies. She once thought of each as parts of herself, but looking on it now, she did think a bit more like a wolf when in her true form, and more like a human in her human form. "Lawrence, if you would, please remain here as I go talk to Saphira. I would like to ask her for advice on raising Dragons."

Eragon was about to offer his services, but Lawrence stopped him. Only when Holo had been gone for several minutes did he return his gaze to Eragon. "While she may be going to talk to her about Dragon raising, that's not why she left. She's worried about what you told her. She sees everything about her as proof of who she is. Her ears and tail remaining while in human form is proof of her status as a pure wolf. Her ability to still speak in wolf form is proof that a wolf is not all that she is. But she always saw them as two halves of the same coin. Being told that they are indeed different forms, it likely shook the foundation of her very core identity. She wants time to think, and going to see Saphira gives just such an opportunity."

Eragon looked thoughtful for a minute. "It wasn't my intent to cause her such worry, but I do feel it had to be said. There is no precedent for this among the Riders of current or old. But logic does dictate that this is a possibility to be cautious of."

Just then, Miss Hanna approached the two. "Master Lawrence, I saw that Miss Holo was making her way up the mountains. Should I make less dinner tonight, or simply arrange to save her and Brimisi's food for when she gets back?" Eragon looked quizzically at Lawrence. "Yes, save their food for later. I don't know when they'll return, but it's doubtful they will be fed when they return."

As she left, Eragon asked, "You let you staff know so easily? I mean, they seemed capable of handling it, but you didn't seem to want Brimisi to be common knowledge around here, I thought?" Lawrence smiled at the misunderstanding. "Mister Eragon, I am the only human at the Spice and Wolf Bathhouse. Miss Hanna and Miss Selim are both incarnations as well. Even if we attempted to hide Brimisi from them, Miss Selim would hear just as Holo can, and Miss Hanna would be aware of us sneaking extra food for Brimisi. She's very particular about order and tidiness."

"Well at least you can trust them. That's what matters. I apologize for both of my blunders. First with your wife, and next in second guessing your placement of trust." Lawrence responded coolly. "Well, time will tell if what you said to Holo was a blunder or not."

"_Saphira, please help her however you can._" Eragon pleaded.

…

Holo took solace in Brimisi's mind while she walked to Saphira. Brimisi didn't seem to care what Holo was and seemed to try and reassure her that nothing would happen, but it didn't quite calm her down. She was far too anxious. She distracted herself by teaching Brimisi all the words she could. It was nearly nightfall by the time they reached Saphira.

"_Saphira?_" Holo asked. "_Yes, old one?_"

Holo was long in coming. "_How am I to continue being a Rider if I cannot be who I am? Eragon seems to feel that I am two different beings, and this may separate me from Brimisi. I may not have known her long, but I already love her much the same as I love my dear Lawrence. But this is not my true form. I must be who and what I am, else I go mad! What should I do?_"

Saphira contemplated for a minute on how best to respond. "_You will never know what will happen until you try. Even if your bond does disappear somewhat, I can assure you it will not be permanent. The magic of Dragons runs strong and deep between us and our partners. I can already sense the strength of your bond together. My partner of heart and mind meant well in his warnings, but is ever a failure in his delivery of such warnings. He only thinks of what could go wrong. Please forgive him for that. But do not distrust the strength of Dragon magic. For it runs strongly through your veins. Even if two of those three threads my partner spoke of were to break, the final one is strong enough to keep you both bound together. It was one of the greatest acts of magic the world has ever known. A simple transformation could never shatter such magic. Eragon still may have a point though. Even if it makes not one bit of sense to me. I think much as you did. That your mind is the same in both forms, so the shape of your body shouldn't be enough to cause a difference. When Eragon changed the shape of his body through Dragon magic, and again through his own magic, I could feel his body changing as if my own was changing alongside his. But I never felt our bond change. A mental shift, however, has produced strain on our bond though. Sometimes it would be harder to access his mind if he was too upset and his thinking fundamentally changed for a period of time. But a strain is not a severance._"

Holo thought over this long and hard. She agreed with Saphira's words, but couldn't push Eragon's out of her mind. "_Saphira, do you have the ability to safeguard my bond with Brimisi as I transform in front of you? I would like to try it so as to put this whole fear to rest._" Saphira shook her head as she enveloped Holo's mind with her own. "_I am now in the whole of your consciousness. Proceed as you will._" Saphira calmly stated.

Holo began removing her clothes after setting Brimisi on Saphira's enormous foreleg. She began her transformation, one part at a time, testing the connection as she did. When it became difficult to keep balance with only her appendages transformed, she looked worriedly at Brimisi watching intently, nodded her head and proceeded to take the final step into her wolf form.

Almost immediately, Saphira became very worried as all but the slightest connection between Holo and Brimisi vanished. Holo's mind seemed to fracture. She was still capable of rational thought, but her mind had clearly changed fundamentally. Holo began to cry out in anguish as it felt to her that Brimisi's bond had been lost.

"_!_" Brimisi thought directly to Holo. That seemed to calm her down enough to think. "_What happened Old One!?_ _You were fine until that final transformation!_" Saphira asked, concern radiating from her being. Holo however seemed to take solace in the fact that her bond with Brimisi hadn't faded entirely, and she could still communicate with her. "_I guess Eragon was right, as well as you. My bond is damaged in my true form, but not broken. I can still sense my dear Brimisi, but nowhere near the same way as before. I can only hope that it returns in my human form. One moment please._"

Holo began transforming back into a girl, and as she did, the bond with Brimisi seemed to oddly be restored to what it once was. "_Saphira, was there nothing you could do? Should we try again?_" Saphira seemed at a loss. "_I've never seen such a thing. Even now, your mind is not what it once was when we first met. It is clearly stable, and hasn't changed much except for how it did when you changed before you became a Rider, but your mind seemed to fracture the moment you transformed just then. It was in that moment in which your bond was harmed. It seems that your wolf form identity and your human form identity have definitively split in your mind._"

By this point, Brimisi began to flood Holo's mind with thoughts of concern and care. She seemed to be searching for anything wrong with Holo. What upset Holo was that Brimisi didn't seem to like what she found. It seemed as if she reluctantly sat in her mind between the two shattered halves of Holo's mind, grasping both, while trying to pull the pieces back together. But she tried to no avail.

Holo put on a brave face and changed the subject. "_Well Saphira, I might as well ask you about the things I told my mate I would be coming here for. How should I best raise a Dragon like Brimisi?_" Brimisi seemed to not enjoy how Holo just changed the subject, but didn't resist how using her as a pretense brought Holo peace. Saphira seemed to accept the change of subject as a natural course of action at the moment, and answered the question as asked. "_You are doing exactly as you should. Dragons eat when they are hungry, we sleep when we are tired, and we speak as we please. Raising one of us is simply a battle of wills until we can truly think for ourselves. It appears young Brimisi will reach that time around the same time I did. By then, you can only hope you taught her enough to grow up properly. Eragon raised me well enough as a farm boy who knew nothing of Dragons. His love and attention were enough. So, you shouldn't worry too much with two who are indeed knowledgeable of Dragons at your side to guide you._" Saphira said affectionately.

"_Exactly how long was it for you before you began thinking for yourself?_" Saphira seemed to cough a bit in her throat. Apparently, it was how Dragons laugh out loud. "_It was only a few weeks for me Old One. I had spoken my first words to Eragon in only a few weeks in and very shortly after that, I began challenging him on how things should be. At least he was strong in his resolve when he decided things, else I wouldn't have obeyed so easily when I was young._"

Holo seemed to genuinely laugh for the first time in a while at that. "_Well, I will test one more time on my way home. If anything else happens, I might have to forsake my true form as dangerous to Brimisi._" Saphira flooded Holo's mind at the same time Brimisi did, and it slightly hurt. "_I will keep watch over your mind. I will not prevent what happens so you will know if it is stable. But if it looks about to break, I will prevent what I can. Let me know when I can stop._" Holo simply nodded and returned to her wolf form.

It was the same as before, but not as violent. This time, it seemed she simply changed her entire state of mind as she lost all but the most basic of ties to Brimisi. It was agonizing to Holo, but bearable when Saphira spoke. "_Rest assured, you can transform in enough peace that you will not further damage your bond. You may lose most of the connection in this form, but you will not lose it. It seemed that violent fracturing of your mind was a one-time occasion. This seemed to be more of the 'switch' I anticipated the first time around. I do not feel I need to accompany your mind all the way home unless you simply wish it. I have no issues doing so If you indeed wish it._"

"_No. That won't be necessary if you are sure. In this case, I would rather travel with Brimisi and figure out our own thoughts and feelings on the matter._" Holo said self-assuringly. As she trotted off, Brimisi flooded into Holo's mind as deeply as possible, trying to create the same sense as before, but it always felt… different, somehow. Something just didn't connect quite the same way as before. As Holo walked, she at least reveled in the strong feelings her Dragon sent to her.

But about halfway to the bathhouse, Brimisi uttered a single word. "_Fool._" It seemed sad, but Holo could still sense that she didn't say it out of malice. But she CLEARLY knew what she was saying. "_Brimisi, why did you call me that?_" Holo didn't know what else to do.

"_Fool._"

Had she done something wrong? She couldn't figure it out. Apon further questioning, all Brimisi could do to tell Holo what was wrong was give a series of confusing images. An image of Holo in her wolf form, an image in her human form, an image of those two smashed together, and many others of varying degrees of transformation. But she eventually went back went back to the image of her wolf and human forms smashed together and started making the image seem to pull apart. However, it wouldn't tear. Then, she flashed an image of Eragon, and the two immediately separated into two images again, but they were torn at the edges.

When Holo still didn't understand what exactly Brimisi was saying, she just repeated, "_Fool_" again and proceeded to fall asleep on her back, while on top of Holo's clothes.

"Why am I a fool?"


	7. Unanswered Questions of Magic

**Unanswered Questions of Magic**

"_Ebrithilar, I need your council._" Eragon asked. The Eldunari rolled in their thoughts, as if rousing from sleep. "_We are aware of what happened to Lady Holo not long ago. Saphira has already contacted us even before she contacted you. She sought our help to shield the bond of the new pair. We were present for the fracturing of her mind._"

"_Saphira? Why didn't you tell me that?_" Saphira was deliberate in her response. "_I didn't feel it was necessary at the time. She only needed help. Help she sought from her mate. Also, there were parts concerning Dragons alone I wished to speak to the Ebrithilar about. Parts concerning the bond known only to us. Please understand that I only wish to help that poor woman and not simply keep you in the dark._"

Eragon wasn't happy about it, but he conceded that Saphira was in the right. The Dragon's Bond with the races comes almost entirely from Dragons. It's only right that certain parts of its implementation and upkeep are stored solely in the minds of Dragons. "_But I still wish you had at least told me you talked to them already._"

The Eldunari stirred in thought. "_If you're quite done with this useless talk of 'should haves' and 'wishes,' could we get the meat of the matter? We have already concluded that something in the bond goes wrong when Lady Holo transforms. But somehow, it repairs itself when she transforms back to her human… should we say Elf now that ancestry has been established? Anyway, when she transforms back into her two legs form, her bond with Brimisi is restored in its entirety._" Eragon and Saphira shared a private laugh with each other over the Eldunari getting flustered over such a trivial designation.

Eragon was the first to respond. "_That part is obvious. What we don't know is why. It was my guess that because of her rapid transformation and mental shift, it put enormous strain on their bond, causing it to snap._" The Eldunari thought for a moment. "_No. Snap isn't quite right. While it deteriorated, yes, it didn't disappear entirely. In fact, both the magical and physical connections were still completely intact. However, their mental bond had but a single thread's connection remaining._"

Both Eragon and Saphira recoiled from that revelation. "_But what does this mean Ebrithilar?_" Saphira asked earnestly. "_Say that you remove a part of someone's body. The mind so clearly remembers that segment that it can still cause the person to feel pain in the missing part. And they clearly feel it as if the segment wasn't missing at all, as in, it is not simply felt at the base of the former attachment. It is as if the soul of the missing segment still feels what the physical body cannot. Therefore, it is oft referred to as phantom pains._" Eragon and Saphira seemed surprised by this, but both knew people who experienced this, and therefore kept calm.

"_However, should you cut of the mind's ability to feel such pain, as with the Laughing Dead that Galbatorix created during the war, it is as if the connection to the body itself has vanished. The mind can no longer feel the body, and thus, the person can no longer sense it either. It was a marvel that they could even retain their ability to control their own limbs enough to fight. No doubt, many humans died before Galbatorix's awful plan came to be as we knew it._"

Eragon and Saphira exchanged thoughts between themselves for a while in light of this new way of thinking. "_So what you're saying is that whatever caused this is completely mental? That whatever is happening mentally is strong enough to override one of the great magics?_" Eragon was almost frantic as he questioned.

The Eldunaris' minds seemed heavy as they replied. "_In a word, yes. We know not how it has happened. The oldest of us that are present still have yet to rouse from their ancient musings and give anything more than power to our conundrum. We shall continue on Lady Holo's behalf to awaken them from slumber and gain an answer. In the meantime, train her as you would any other Rider._" With that, the presence of the Eldunari faded from the pair's minds.

"_Well Saphira, what should we do?_" Saphira was confident, yet unsure, with her answer. "_Exactly as instructed. We train the new pair._"

…

Lawrence and Holo were still worried about the new development, but were oddly reassured by Brimisi. Over the past few days, she had taken to language at a wildly fast rate. She kept telling them not to worry over such small things. Even with such a small vocabulary, Brimisi had a way with words.

But nonetheless, Holo was still pained over her decision to never transform again unless it was necessary, despite Brimisi's insistence on the exact opposite. "_I told you Holo, we have to try more with the wolf form. Just get used to it! Eventually, it will be like everything else. This is who you are, Holo!_" But she was a stubborn wolf. Holo wouldn't listen because she didn't want to lose her bond with Brimisi for even a single moment unless she had to. It was too painful for her.

"Don't you have training with Eragon and Saphira soon? We should eat lunch and get you both to the mountains soon." Holo nodded and got to making some porridge with apples and goat's milk. She had taken to eating more comforting foods lately in her sadness. "We've made some progress in magic, but it seems I am not very good. I was phenomenally quick at picking up the basics, he said, but after that, I can still only manage the most rudimentary spells. And even those are very weak versions of what they should be at that. He actually said earlier that he wanted to talk to me about that today, as he thinks he may have an answer to this."

Lawrence tried to bring some levity to the situation. "Now that's something I didn't expect to hear. You, Holo the Wisewolf not good at something as soon as you get your hands on it? How shocking. I'd have sooner expected you to shave your own tail in frustration than see this." Holo was unamused at his teasing. "Eragon and Saphira will find the cause of this soon. Everything about this seems unusual to them. And every time we see them, tis as if they had yet another conversation with people we do not know about that they won't acknowledge. But it seems that when they do, they have more information on my situation they could not grasp before. Whoever, or whatever they are speaking to, seems to be quite wise. I can only hope that they understand enough about me to fix all this."

After lunch, Holo and Brimisi parted out of the back of the bathhouse, as Brimisi was now large enough to rival medium sized dogs, and made for the mountains. When they finally made it to Eragon and Saphira, Brimisi replied first. "_Hello_ _masters. Did you find anything more about Holo and magic?_"

Eragon and Saphira shared a glance. "We actually need to examine your mind Holo to conclude our findings. Do you mind." Holo simply shook her had and stepped forward, but towards Saphira to do the concluding. Holo didn't understand why Brimisi didn't like Eragon, but it had started coloring her own views of the man, and she had since begun going to Saphira for anything invasive.

Once Saphira finished her examination, her eyes went wide. "_Eragon, it's exactly as we thought! She has immense power and affinity for magic inside of her._" Holo seemed confused. "Then why can I not use this power? Am I just not using it properly?" Saphira was kind and gentle in her response. "_I do not wish to upset you, but while the magic runs strongly through you, it appears as if you can access it from two different places. And one is clearly stronger than the other._"

"_Let me guess. Holo is better in wolf form than human form. I am right, right?_" Brimisi said in a very annoyed fashion. Saphira simply nodded her head while keeping one glittering blue eye on the pair. "_With your approval, would you perhaps try our training today in wolf form? I feel it would best put this to rest. If I am not mistaken, Brimisi wishes this as well?_"

"Yes, she does. And if you are asking Saphira, I will concede. But only for a bit, not the whole training. I do not like how it feels to be separated from her like that. Tis as if my whole being is ripped in two." Eragon interjected, much to Brimisi's displeasure. "While I wish that wasn't the case for you, that is exactly how being separated from your Dragon should feel. Eventually you will learn to separate your consciousnesses on your own as part of your training, in the case of one dying and the other living. It is the only way to prevent total madness. By using this inconvenient circumstance to our advantage, we can better prepare you for such a thing by desensitizing you to its effects."

"It almost sounds as if you want to downplay the special characteristics of the bond we share by making its separation trivial." Holo said accusingly. Brimisi growled in agreement with Holo. Saphira growled a warning at both in the junior pair. "_I understand you both are not happy with my Eragon about something you will not tell us. But do not think I will tolerate this poor treatment of him. After all, he is still the leader of the Dragon Riders until someone better suited for the role appears. And as such, you will show respect or else I will decide for him to end your training. Am I clear?_" Surprisingly, Saphira was rather kind as she said this, while retaining all the force and authority as befitting her position. She seemed to know and understand that there was a valid reason for these feelings. But she still wouldn't accept such open contempt for her partner. Brimisi and Holo saw her words for what they were and apologized.

Holo took to her wolf form for the first time in almost a week and began her training in agony. She hated being separated from Brimisi in this manner, but knew it was necessary as soon as she began casting spells in this form. From the first cast, she was far stronger than Eragon and Saphira imagined. She was told to levitate a rock in her paw, but it shot so high, so fast, that it literally killed a bird that happened to be flying above at that moment. After fine tuning it, she was able to control this new power quite easily and was able to start on far stronger spells.

"Well, if anything, this only further proves that she is of Elven heritage. I would even venture to say that Holo is strong enough to cast some of the lower grade Elven spells. Albeit only in her wolf form. At this, Holo transformed back into her human form. "I do not wish to continue any longer in that form. Tis… To painful."

Brimisi flooded her mind with extreme force. She seemed to be searching for something. Just as Holo was about to ask what she was looking for, Holo felt a rush of power entering into Brimisi from Holo herself. "_I have accessed the flow of magic from your wolf form. Use me to try casting the same spell from earlier._" Holo was confused, but did as her Dragon asked. Saphira entered the pair's minds to watch over the proceedings.

While it worked, it didn't go exactly as Brimisi had hoped. "_Sadly, it seems too much energy is lost in the transfer, and Holo uses about twice the power for half the original effect. She has essentially a quarter of the strength for the amount of power used. While clearly superior to her using magic alone in her human form, this seems to come with the considerable risk of depleting Holo very quickly. I would recommend this in extreme situations. Eragon and I came up with a solution last night however._"

Eragon took over where Saphira left off when he was mentioned. "Yes, we have here a ring with a silver diamond imbedded inside of it. We have already imbued it as well with considerable energy. I recommend you add to it when you can. We will also show you how today. When in this form, cast spells with the power inside of this ring. But should you run out when more power is still needed, you will need to transform into your wolf form to gain more power. At which point, you will have essentially a second ocean of power reservoir."

Holo smiled at the gift, but it was tinged with… something else. Saphira responded to this. "_You seem to be happy for the gift, but you wish that it was your own power, correct?_" Holo looked deeply into her shimmering blue eye. "How can you see so clearly into me? Are you not younger than my mate?" She said the last part somewhat impishly.

"_True. I am young by almost every race's standards at only about twenty-one years of age. But both of us know with certainty that age and wisdom do not flow at the same rates. Our choices for partners prove this time and time again with their foolishness_._ Perhaps it was our own foolishness for choosing them._" Holo giggled in her response. "No. We need to have all of our wisdom tempered with foolishness. Lest we grow complacent in our wisdom and lose it. A drop of foolishness from them keeps us on our toes and brings joy to our hearts."

"If you two are done laughing at the people you claim to care most about, we have training to get back to." Eragon said, annoyed.

At the conclusion of training, Eragon and Saphira decided that the only progress to be made in magic would have to be in Holo's wolf form. Otherwise, they would only have between three and four spells a day if Brimisi acted as Holo's conduit. Especially with Holo's spells consuming four times the energy for the power level that was produced in that manner. Holo didn't like this conclusion at all, since it was decided that Holo would have to proceed with her training solely in her wolf form from now on.

Even Brimisi made her promise to not run from this training. She almost had Saphira teach Holo the words to promise in the Ancient Language. But Holo unwillingly conceded defeat on the matter as long as Brimisi was as close to being wholly crammed inside of her mind as possible during the whole of training, save for the occasions where that would be difficult. As Brimisi made that promise, Holo finally agreed. Eragon seemed relieved while Saphira seemed concerned.


	8. Discovery

**Discovery**

It had been five months now since Eragon and Saphira arrived at the Spice and Wolf Bathhouse. By now, Eragon was paying in Lumion gold coin forgeries created by magic after being mined from the earth. Eragon started to pay in Gold Debaus, but stopped when Lawrence said those are rare enough as it is, and if he had too many gather up at his bathhouse, people would get suspicious. Brimisi had a full and complete grasp of the language and was now sleeping next to Saphira mostly, as she was now reaching Holo's wolf form in size.

Those two often went of at night to the Tolkien Region's forests to hunt and expend energy as Saphira taught Brimisi aerial combat as well as general flight lessons. Brimisi was a gifted flier and excellent at using her smaller size and speed against the immense blue Dragon easily Twenty times her size if not more. Even if Saphira was going easy on her, it made both Brimisi and Holo both proud that she could hold her own against something so massive.

Holo and Eragon trained in sword fighting, and Eragon even relented to teach Lawrence how to fight as well. Although Lawrence tired quickly, he gained a fair amount of skill, and his discerning eyes made him quite good. All the same, Holo's nimble, sharp, and ever quick movements made her a force to be reckoned with. She seemed to take pride in winning her bouts against Lawrence and took hard her losses. But it was clear that she was gifted with a blade. After she was convinced it would be fun, that was.

There were a few nights where Holo and Eragon accompanied Brimisi and Saphira on a late-night flight when the sky was filled with clouds, so as to not reflect their glimmering scales. It was on nights like these that Eragon and Saphira taught Holo and Brimisi the deeper meanings of their bond, the history of the Riders, the history of Elves and the other races of Alagaësia, and anything else that Holo might have wanted to know. However, it was on one such night as this that they discovered a footprint that shouldn't be.

Holo nearly went into a rage as she saw it and Brimisi reacted quite without knowing what she was supposed to be angry about. All Eragon and Saphira could do was stare at the massive footprint in pure disbelief. "_Eragon, that's clearly bigger than Shuikan! Whatever caused this should be too massive for this land as no Dragons live here._" Saphira mentally shouted with alarm.

Holo appeared to speak with great calm, despite no trace of such a sensation existing within her. "_No. That footprint is not from a Dragon, nor is it from anything you should have encountered before. Tis the pawprint of one of the most dangerous beings to ever terrorize this land. Tis the mate of the Moonhunting Bear. She's returned._"

Eragon and Saphira both turned so fast toward the junior pair that Saphira almost changed direction. "_I thought that she vowed never to return! Holo, how exactly was her mate brought down, just in case this isn't a nightly stroll, as we're doing?_"

"_I know not the specifics as I was not there. However, twas at the cost of my entire pack and a great deal of humans. From a journal recounting parts of the battle, it was said that they tied vines around his legs to trip him before converging on his throat to kill him. It was then, that its mate appeared, and they had not the strength to fight her too. However, I do not think that strategy will work here, as she is much larger than even HE was when he destroyed my pack. She seems to be larger by at least a third. I always knew the bear incarnations grew faster than those of wolves, but this is not sitting well with me. I do hope that this is nothing more than a stroll as you mentioned, Master Saphira._"

"Holo, do you have an idea of what she might want?" Eragon asked. "It could be anything, really. Food, anger at humans, anger at the incarnations, territorial threat. There is no telling which one it is." Holo noticed Eragon's gaze becoming distant as they flew before he responded again.

"We will continue to search the area with our minds. You and Brimisi should go back home. Just be careful. And if you should happen to find more tracks, alert us immediately." Holo and Brimisi nodded before turning around and flying back home.

"_They don't trust us to help._" Brimisi said, slightly annoyed. "_This is our fight!_" Holo was calm in her reply to Brimisi. "No. Tis not our fight. Tis my fight. Tis the fight of the animal incarnations. You are bonded to me, yes, but not to the whole of my race. I cannot send you out to fight this foe when you are so young. I will abandon this land with you and Lawrence before I allow that to happen. And with this being my fight, that is my choice to make."

Brimisi seemed hurt by this. "_Holo. You would abandon those who need help? Have you abandoned you honor? Your pride as a wolf?_"

"Be quiet Brimisi! You are a fool to think we can best such power on our own! How dare you question my honor! And my pride? I am prideful of the things I have control over, not the things over which I have no effect. Do not think to goad me into sending us both to our deaths against something that even Eragon and Saphira seemed to be hesitant of! My family is more important to me than my silly pride." Holo said that last part quietly, while hugging herself tightly and leaning heavily on Brimisi's neck.

Brimisi finally began to understand the immensity of what she had asked Holo to take on. "_I… I'm… sorry Holo. I didn't fully understand. But even so, we cannot just leave people to die if this is not just a simple movement. Can you not feel the malice in the air? It doesn't feel normal. It's as if a combination of forces are at work here._"

"I forgive you. As for what you sense, I can. It feels as if it is a meeting of my world and the world you come from. I cannot quite explain it though. Tis quite unusual.

…

As Eragon and Saphira flew, they conversed with the Eldunari. "_Ebrithilar, what do you make of this?_" Umaroth responded for himself instead of for the masses this time. "_This is a being of great and immense power. I do not feel that she will be of as great a threat as Galbatorix, but her power clearly rivals that of ordinary Riders and Dragons. I clearly sense magic in the air akin to the magics of old. The rest of the Eldunari are still gathering information to be sure, but I feel that this is a magic of instinct akin to that of Dragons. But it does seem to be more conscious than ours. There is clearly intent in the magic we sense, but with the unspoken nature of spells of instinct, there are no words to unravel the meaning behind such spells until they are triggered, or we understand the feelings that went into its creation._"

"_So, what you're saying, is that we have nothing? We don't truly know our enemy, or what she's capable of._" Saphira said bluntly. Umaroth seemed aggravated by her response. "_You could put it that way if you wish to make light of what we do know._" Saphira growled. "_We know nothing except for the fact that this being using instinct magic and is large. That means the Name of Names will be useless in this fight, should it come to that. Some of our wards may possibly be rendered useless as well as long as the intent of instinct doesn't trip the wording we have used in our own spells._"

Umaroth relented his facade of understanding as the other Eldunari seemed to return to themselves. "_It seems we truly do not know much. We have all returned from mentally probing the area and have deemed that it is not possible to tell one incarnation's size from another. Particularly if they are in their two legs form. However, there are only thirteen bear incarnations within 70 leagues of this spot._" Eragon inserted his thoughts here. "_As long as this print isn't too old, she should still be close from the sky. Ebrithilar, would it be possible to keep an eye on all of them so we can tell if they should move a great distance? That would alert us right away to which one it is if one should move a few miles in a step or two._"

"_We are already doing that Eragon. They all seem to either be in human form or asleep. And if she truly did use magic, then she may already be alerted to our presence. We do not wish to enter into a mind so readily that could very well have strong ability of an unknown degree. Caution is the better part of valor after all._"

Eragon and Saphira had to agree at that. Saphira presented her plan for the time being. "_Well, I for one think that we should return to the bathhouse to Holo and Brimisi. Another Rider who knows what we do could be invaluable. Especially with her wolf form being as strong as it is, she only needs more training and a good enough reason to transform and she will be the same as having a new Elf Rider._"

"I agree." Eragon said before Saphira turned around to make for the bathhouse.

Once back at the place Saphira usually landed, Brimisi approached, concerned. "_What did you find masters? Is it truly a force of hatred? Can we stop it with our power? What can I tell Holo?_" Saphira responded to the young Dragon's questioning. "_Calm yourself young one. There are several things we must discuss with you both. Would you ask Holo to join us?_"

Brimisi stared off in the distance for a second before responding. "_Holo is already asleep, and I would rather not wake her, as sleep has not come easily to her lately. Could you not discuss this with me instead for now? Even if it is only what you have found since we separated from you both, I could still be of some help. I do know her feelings on the matter, after all._"

"No. If you do not wish to wake her, then we should all sleep for now. Saphira and I are tired as well, and discussing matters such as this will get us nowhere with the slim amount of information we currently have. We more wished to discuss other, related matters." Eragon explained.

"_Related matters? How could it be related, but yet not get us anywhere?_" Brimisi questioned. Saphira spoke to Brimisi like an amused mother. "_Calm yourself Brimisi. You remind me of Eragon when he was younger, and I was your age. So many questions while never waiting for an answer. We understand your need to be apart of this struggle. We do. But sleep deprived thinking only leads to half baked answers. And while the things we wished to discuss now will indeed help us later, they alone will solve nothing. However, come morning, we may possibly have more information to discuss._"

"_So, does that mean you possess the ability to use your mind in your sleep?_" Brimisi asked, astonished. Eragon flashed a wry smile. "In a manner of speaking, yes. There are methods to gather information while you sleep in a roundabout way, but you will likely learn of these methods when you are far older. Quite possibly when you are closer to our age." He wasn't ready yet to divulge the secret of the Eldunari unless completely necessary. But that didn't mean he should lie to the young Dragon.

"_Masters. Could you at least tell me something about what we can do? I do not like simply waiting for a plan to emerge._" Brimisi asked solemnly. Eragon looked thoughtful. "You can sleep for now. That is what you can do. But in the morning, I think it will be time to give Holo a sharper fang." He said this with a hint of playfulness in his voice. Brimisi just looked confused.


	9. Fyrngarm

**Fyrngarm**

When Lawrence and Holo awoke the next morning, Holo still seemed upset. "Holo, you came back last night in a foul mood, but you wouldn't explain what happened. Could you at least tell me now?"

Holo shot him a glare, but quickly looked away as if she'd been scolded. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I had a fight with Brimisi, and it weighed heavily on my mind." Lawrence immediately adopted a sympathetic look and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No! I don't want to talk about it!" Holo again looked down. "But I need to. The mate of the Moonhunting Bear has returned. We found her pawprints last night on our flight together with Eragon and Saphira."

Lawrence almost fell over. "How is your fight with Brimisi taking precedence in your mind over that?!" Holo was as calm with Lawrence as she was with Brimisi. "Tis simple. I was not worried about anyone but my own family pack. I had decided to abandon this land and go with you to Alagaësia if she tried to attack. I am willing to give up our quiet life in this shop if I have to. I will work hard to give you another shop if I must. But Brimisi had to question my pride and honor as a wolf! And she was right!" As much as Holo was fuming, she was still letting a few tears escape.

Brimisi was right after all. Holo now had significant power as well as help from others with even more power. Yet now is when she decided to run, leaving others to suffer the same fate her old pack had so long ago. It was enough to make her question whether or not she really deserved the name, Wisewolf. Holo didn't feel as if she was living up to a wolf's reputation or deserved to be called wise when she had only decided to run without even considering the plight of the entire country she called home.

Lawrence embraced Holo tightly. "Holo. We may have to leave this place anyway. You've seen just how big Saphira is. Both her and Brimisi need to go far away so as to not spook people from seeing giant piles of dung that are as big or bigger than they are. And if we were alone, I wouldn't even question your choice to run. But we have those two with us as well, don't we? I don't doubt that they could help. Don't you remember what I said so long ago in front of Ruvinheigen?"

Holo started gripping his arm tightly enough with her claws that Lawrence almost felt he would bleed. "So, you're taking Brimisi's side are you?" Lawrence looked at her with a combination of pain and determination. "I'm not taking anyone's side Holo. Now do you remember or don't you?" Holo stopped gripping and let her arms go slack. "Aye. You have always been this way, haven't you? You wish me to make the choice that leads us to stomaching tomorrow, correct?" She nuzzled back into his shoulder.

Lawrence nodded his head on top of Holo's. "I do. If we leave now, we may regret doing nothing. Especially if we find out that people died because we decided not to act." Lawrence knew he couldn't do anything, but he at least made an attempt to shoulder the blame with his words so as to not make her feel entirely responsible for this decision alone. "We should talk to Eragon and Saphira. Can you see if Brimisi knows where they're at? I didn't hear Eragon come in last night."

Holo contacted Brimisi, who responded as fast as their minds touched. "_Holo! Holo! Come quick! Eragon thinks we can stop the giant bear woman! He wants to give you sharper fangs! I might not know what that means, but I think you will like it if it helps you overcome your fears of her_." Holo recoiled a bit from the force of Brimisi's insistence. "_I will be there shortly._" Holo replied.

"_While I know you won't do it, I think you should take your wolf form and get here faster. Consider it training._" The dread and fear of loss that flooded the pair's link made Brimisi shrink from contact slightly. "_Forget I said anything._ _I just wanted you here quickly_." Holo took a deep breath. "_No. You're right Brimisi. If those two are willing to help us out, I should be willing to endure a little pain. Just know that you are taking full responsibility if I break down again. Losing our bond feels the same as I would imagine it will be when I lose my dear mate._" Ever since starting this training with Eragon and Saphira, Holo had started breaking into fits of near hysteria if she went too long in her wolf form, or was forced to transform more than two or three times into a wolf in one day.

Brimisi was quick to respond. "_Holo, you know I always take full responsibility. I wish you didn't have to go through such pain, but your wolf form is apart of you. And if this must be apart of us, then so be it! You shouldn't have to run from who you are. Maybe if you do, then it will be less painful._" Brimisi was almost pleading. "_Also, you haven't had an attack in a month, so you'll be fine. Right?_"

Holo was irritated, but kind in her reply. "_I already said I would come. No need to keep badgering me about it. And yes, I haven't had an attack in quite some time. But the pain of losing our bond still hurts. Plus, no doubt these, sharper fangs as he calls them, will involve that form._" Brimisi snapped at her last comment. "_Quit calling it, 'that form' Holo! It's still you. You don't change anything but your appearance, so stop acting as if it's no longer you! You barely even maintain your tail anymore! Snap out of it Holo and get over here already so we can all help!_"

After that sudden outburst, Brimisi began talking much more softly. She could feel Holo's trembling across their link. "_Holo, I know this is hard. But this is something we need to get past together. You've all but completely stopped thinking of yourself as a wolf, let alone the Wisewolf of Yoitsu. Promise me that you'll take better care of yourself and at least try to recover what parts of yourself you've lost since I hatched._"

With that, Holo started. "_Please don't tell me you blame yourself for what happened to me!_" Brimisi quietly replied. "_Not entirely, but I can't say no._" Holo had to gather herself for a moment. "_You can't help what happened, but I can let you help me at least. I can't guarantee that I'll recover what I've lost, or that I can truly recover my thinking as a wolf, but I will promise right now that I will at least take better care of myself. My tail is in such disarray right now._" Brimisi seemed to take a measure of pleasure in the revulsion Holo let slip across their link.

It was then that the unexpected happened. "_Thank you Brimisi. I could never figure out how to best bring all of that up to her. I guess the tough love approach was best and I was just scared._" Holo shot her gaze to her mate as fast as lightning. "_Since when can you do that willingly and without our help!?_" Lawrence just laughed before replying. "_I've been having Eragon teach me every moment that he would allow in exchange for free extras at the bathhouse. Sorry, but I traded some of the secret wine stash first. But I'll make sure to replace that bottle later as soon as Cyrus finishes aging what he's been calling his masterpiece, I swear!_" Lawrence put up his hands in surrender before he was even sure of Holo's reaction. She just sort of stood there blankly.

Then she dove right for his midsection, tackling him to the ground and embracing both Brimisi and Lawrence with her mind. "_I'm sorry. I know I have made you both worry about not being myself. I love you both dearly and don't want you to worry so much. But as for that bottle, Cyrus's masterpiece had better live up to his expectations, or else you'll be living with him for a month. All of those bottles were hand selected by me. But I thank you for your surprise._" Holo switched between emotions so rapidly that it made Lawrence's head spin.

"_Now that I can enter minds by myself, I've learned that what I feared before wasn't really going to happen. I can't just see everything by entering. I actually have to look for it just like anything else. You're probably better at this than I am though, being a Dragon Rider and all, but now I might at least be able to help somehow._" Holo thought privately for a moment before her mind turned mischievous.

"_Do you want to test it out?_" Holo asked impishly. "_How so?_" Lawrence said warily. "_Simple. We just see who can gain access to the other's mind first. Twill be a wizard's duel without magic! The loser will be controlled by the winner's mind for a whole minute, being forced to do whatever the winner commands. Tis both practice and a fun little wager at once! What do you say?_"

Lawrence was skeptical of whether or not he stood a chance against a Rider, but he didn't back down. "_You're on._"

The two both took seated positions on opposite sides of the bed, Brimisi fuming over the two getting so completely sidetracked. After they both had fortified their minds acceptably, they nodded for the match to begin. Holo went on the attack first, battering haphazardly against Lawrence's mind to no avail. He had after all been remarkably good at defense when they first learned how to guard their minds in the first place. But he wasn't attacking at all. Holo started making more calculated attacks at places she felt were the weakest, but it seemed that the scales of Lawrence's mind constantly shifted to cover the exact places that Holo was about to attack.

"_You have gotten better my dear._" It took Holo a minute to remember that his mind was guarded against her, and he couldn't hear her. But suddenly, just as she became distracted by that thought, a lance of mental energy shattered her defenses right at that very distraction and her entire being was filled with the love and admiration of Lawrence. "_You lose Holo._" Holo just sighed at having been bested, but was not unhappy. Her mate was actually, finally, able to overcome her fully in this area and be a strong and proper male for once.

Holo stopped speaking mentally after telling Brimisi they would be there shortly, cutting off their conversation together. "Well, you've finally bested me and have become a properly strong male. You can fight with a sword and your mind. You are also in better shape than when we met. Tis a shame that it took you till almost forty before you became this way. I will abide by the terms of our duel and you shall have your way with me tonight, whatever it is you decide to do." She said that last part rather seductively.

Lawrence just hid his blushing face. "I have an idea of what I want, but you'll have to wait and see what it is. But for now, we should get to the others. Brimisi isn't very pleased with us right now." Holo smiled and lead them both outside before transforming in the hills.

When they arrived Eragon stood up from where he sat next to Saphira and walked directly to Holo as she was transforming back to her human form. "Holo, we have word on the Moonhunting Bear's mate. We found last night that there were thirteen total bear incarnations in total in the area, and over the night, we discovered which one is our bear. She clearly uses a form of magic similar to that of Dragon magic. It's purely unspoken, so wards may very well be useless if they're not numerous and simply worded. The more specific you are, the more ways around it you have. She also possesses a degree of mental ability that is unknown. All we know is that she is quite adept in the use of mental power. We still don't know what it is exactly that she wants, but from how shielded her mind is by rage at something unclear, she is not here for idle chat or a leisurely stroll through the woods on a moonlit night. We need to prepare. And as such, I feel you need a proper weapon of a Rider. So, I have contacted Rhunôn, the legendary smith of the Elves, who has forged all Rider's blades since they were first established. She is willing to reshape an old sword into a new form to fit your desires, since she no longer possesses the materials to make new swords at the moment. What we now need to do, is come up with a design here to send to her."

Holo looked at Eragon quizzically. "But how can we send it to her in enough time? Will not the designing take considerable time as well as sending her the information?" Eragon took on a mischievous grin, not unlike one of Holo's. "You forget, my student, that magic exists." He paused while a look of understanding and embarrassment flashed across Holo's face.

"I know a spell that will instantly transport the design across the whole distance separating us and Rhunôn's forge in an instant. And the same spell will be used to send the finished product back to us later. Not to mention, we can communicate any particulars you may desire in a sword though the use of our scrying spells. As for designing a sword, I already know your style, so the base form will be a two-handed longsword. Since you tend to favor having no shield, a one-handed sword does you little good. But it will be on the narrower side, owing to your smaller build. The exact shaping will be up to you though, as well as any personal preferences."

At that, Brimisi interrupted. "_Holo, you should add something to be able to use it while in your wolf form. After all, that is the only way you can really fight using magic. So, if you're without magic for most of the fight, or you don't have your weapon for most of it, you will be at a greater disadvantage than we already are regardless._"

Holo grimaced a little. "I will have such a feature if we can find a way to incorporate one. But only on the condition that we do not waste time and delay getting it here by thinking of outlandish designs that make it hard for me to fight in my human form." Eragon added his opinion. "Actually, that isn't very hard to do. We simply measure your mouth and put holes in the guard at the right spots so as to provide anchor points with which to attach to your teeth. That will make it so you can grip the sword in human form as well as wolf form and fight just as well with both. A double-edged sword will be able to cut in both directions while you grip it at the front of your mouth, and as long as the guard is simple, it will function as normal while in use for your human form."

In the end, Eragon taught Holo how to sing to plants while actually singing the shape of Holo's new sword to be out of a nearby tree. The sword was long enough to come up to Holo's armpit while standing, and the guard was simple, but had the ends turned around itself so as to provide the anchor points. The rest of the sword was narrow enough to fit between her teeth with a little extra shaping of the blade nearest the hilt. Holo was worried the blade would be too weak, but Eragon assured her of Rhunôn's ability to make an indestructible weapon no matter how fragile it may appear. Eragon laughed at the request of a spell being added to the handle that made it taste like apples so she wouldn't have to worry about leaving a tanned leather taste in her mouth all day afterwards. She also requested a spell to keep the handle free from moisture so her saliva wouldn't coat it, should she need to transform and use her sword in human form.

When all was considered, and Rhunôn had been contacted to inform her of all the requests, and Rhunôn cackled manically at the apple request, Eragon transported the wooden copy of the blade to be as well as a fairth of Brimisi, so she could get the color right after re-forging the blade.

"But one last thing miss Holo." Rhunôn asked impatiently. "What should I name this new sword. Most swords for these new Riders I keep the old name because it doesn't change much. This is quite a different sword entirely, to the point of needing a new coat of color when I'm finished as well as only the blade itself remaining at the conclusion. I feel a need to have the name changed. So? What'll it be?"

Holo thought hard for a moment before snapping her head up in delight. "I have it! Fyrngarm!" Brimisi and Lawrence both shared a sigh of relief at the name, 'War Wolf,' that she chose, as it showed she was at least attempting to stop seeing her wolf form as separate. She was truly trying to merge her identity back together, starting with Fyrngarm. "This is a sword meant for a battle against my greatest foe yet. And I shall have to take the form of a wolf to overcome it most likely. Fyrngarm is a most appropriate name." Rhunôn just nodded gruffly and ended the spell on her end to get to work.

After that, they all went their separate ways, Lawrence and Holo going home, Brimisi leaving to hunt, and Eragon and Saphira stayed put to discuss strategies to present to the rest. As Lawrence and Holo arrived back at the bathhouse, they made their way towards the kitchen in hopes that Miss Hanna had saved them some lunch while they were out. To their luck, she had planned for their late arrival and made dinner late, so it was still hot. It was a simple dinner of beans and pork with bread and a little apple wine. Afterwards, the two went upstairs.

Once Lawrence and Holo finally got upstairs, Holo turned around flirtatiously. "So what is it you have planed for your puppeteering session with my body?" Lawrence grimaced slightly. "I don't think you'll like it, even though it's a good thing." The smile disappeared from Holo's face. "W… What do you mean Lawrence?"

Lawrence looked reluctant. "Well, you may have done it simply from me asking it and I may very well have just wasted an opportunity for something else. But this." At once Lawrence began to gently invade the deepest recesses of Holo's mind. She only fought a little out of instinct as control of her body was taken from her and began to move in ways she didn't command. Once he had confidently gained control of her whole body and made a few test movements to ensure he knew how to properly move her, he sat her down in front of the mirror. "The clock starts now Holo."

Much to Holo's surprise, it was her mouth that began moving as Lawrence made her speak. "I'm sorry to myself. I haven't been the best me I could be lately. I've been worried about necessary things, true, but I have been too scared of new realities that I have forsaken myself. But I am still the Wisewolf Holo of Yoitsu. Holo of the Wheaten Tail. I am still the wolf who safeguarded an entire village's wheat stores for centuries after they'd forgotten their promise. I'm still the cunning wolf that helped a stuck in a rut traveling merchant become some sort of town hero alongside myself. I'm still the wolf who raised a beautiful and intelligent daughter who is off chasing after adventure. While I never stopped being me, I haven't been trying to be the best me. Starting right now, I will take much better care of myself, as befits a proper Wisewolf of Yoitsu." And with the remaining time, Lawrence moved Holo's hand to pick up the brush to start grooming her tail.

When the final second ticked, Lawrence spoke with his own voice. "You can take control at any time, but I do hope you will continue this." Holo gradually began recovering control and eventually stopped brushing. She put it down and rushed to Lawrence, who was fully prepared to be smacked senseless. But instead of the feeling of being hit to the ground, he felt Holo instead weighing down his neck as she had thrown her arms around him and nearly collapsed on the spot in tears.

"I'm so sorry! I truly haven't been myself, but I just can't anymore! I don't think I know how! My true form pains me! My human form irritates me! All of the power I've gained is solely in my wolf form while all of the bonds I want to keep are in my human form! I am but a broken shell of my former self. Lawrence, what should I do?"

Lawrence embraced his wife. "I don't know what you should do, but I can tell you what I would do. Listen to Brimisi. She's inside of your head even more so than I am. She seems to have some kind of understanding of what's wrong with you, but you always ignore her advice. You don't have to do everything she says right away. But you could take it little by little."

Holo looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "I guess you're right. But her advice tends to be a little extreme at times. I do not think I can do everything." Lawrence pulled her in tightly. "You don't have to do more than you can, but you need to do more than you're willing." Holo nodded and promised that she would do all she could to get back to her old self.

Over the next few days, the group talked strategy over how they would confront the beast they dubbed simply, Malice, until they had a better name to call her as they awaited Holo's new blade.


	10. Malice Speaks

**Malice Speaks**

Three days after sending the plans, Rhunôn sent Fyrngarm back to Eragon and Saphira to present to Holo. Immediately after receiving it, he called her to present the sword. Holo gave Brimisi a quick nod before she flooded Holo's mind as she transformed. They at least discovered over the past few days that if Holo is flooded with good thoughts from Brimisi, the pain from separation becomes a little easier to bare, and it's not as severe as being cut clean in one pass, as it now unravels slower.

As Holo completed the transformation, she took the sword in her mouth, which actually did taste like her favorite apples, and took a few test swings with it. Holo was surprised at how light it felt as well as how comfortable it was in her mouth. All the edges were rounded where they came into contact with her teeth. Eragon explained more on that part. "Rhunôn actually added another spell to the metal here so that it will never slip from you mouth easily except if being stuck there would damage your mouth in some way. However, if you are aware of the danger and feel a need to go full force anyway, the spell will nullify for that instance. But there is a second spell at work that keeps the metal from scratching your teeth. So, you don't have to worry about vanity where this sword is concerned. Also, Rhunôn told me she also added a spell to the scabbard that makes the throat automatically seek the tip of the sword when it's near. Should you wear the scabbard on your front leg in your wolf form, you can sheath Fyrngarm in order to do other things as necessary."

Holo had Lawrence fit the scabbard on her right foreleg to test out how it worked. When satisfied the spell acted exactly as it should, she transformed back into her human form to marvel at the design. The color was iridescent emerald green to match Brimisi. But it was a different iridescence than Brisingr was for Eragon. While Brisingr was a more flowing iridescent, this seemed to more resemble fine hair with how it changed color so suddenly, but flawlessly. Holo finally realized that Rhunôn had specifically went through the process of giving fur to Fyrngarm. Holo finally started to test the blade. This time though, Eragon stopped her before she went through the poses to test the sword.

"I also have a gift for Lawrence before you do that Holo." Lawrence stepped forward, confused. "Lawrence, I present to you a sword forged by the Dwarves specifically for you. After Dûrgrimst Vrenshrrgn heard about you Holo, and how you truly are a wolf wanting a sword named the same as their clan, as Vrenshrrgn literally has the same meaning as Fyrngarm, they wanted to gift you armor for both yourself and Brimisi before realizing that they don't possess the power to transport something so big with magic alone. So, they instead chose to arm Lawrence with a sword that they claim could match the brilliance and splendor of any Rider's blade. For now, at least."

Lawrence hesitatingly accepted the sword forged by Dwarves he had never met. "It's… Really for me?" Eragon nodded with a huge grin on his face. "Yes, now take it. They may not be the Ingeitum, which are known for their metalworking, but this is still some of the finest Dwarf work I've ever seen. And I've used some of their best when I was considered the hope of all Alagaësia. I still use Dwarven armor more than Elven armor actually. I just feel it's more reliable."

Lawrence grasped the sword firmly by its scabbard and took it from Eragon. When he drew the blade, he was stunned by the artwork on the it. On the flat middle of the sword was an engraving of a giant wolf hunting down an equally large boar it seemed. Eragon said they were depictions of a Shrrg and a Nagra. The rest of the blade upward was carved to resemble wolf fur. He then realized that the scabbard was actually embossed with a wolf motif on the presentation side as well. On the other side of the blade was carved a wolf's head below an inscription in runes Lawrence couldn't read. When he asked Eragon, he smiled wide.

"It says 'Sartos rak knurlan,' or 'Family of Dwarves.' Or to be exactly precise, 'Family of those of stone,' for that is the literal meaning. Dwarves feel the stone is where they come from after all. Basically, this means that should you come to their halls, they will accept you as a long-awaited friend or family. They say that they had a few dwarves learn some Elven techniques of forging and added some enchantments to the blade of their own. While they can't make the sword never lose its edge like a Rider's blade, it is able to penetrate most magical defenses like one. It will also make you more stable in your footing as long as you are on stone. They call it the homefield advantage. And oddly enough, they put an odd enchantment to be able to tell if a mushroom is poisonous or edible. Should you place one on top of the wolf's head below the runes, the head will shimmer as if eating the mushroom. If it's poisonous, it won't move, as if rejecting the mushroom. They claim it is useful for warriors who are stuck far from home and do not know the terrain. With something like this, they can still eat. And finally, it is enchanted to be far stronger than most any regular Dwarven sword."

After Lawrence had finished marveling at the piece, Eragon continued speaking. "Lawrence, now that you have a blade to call your own, just as Holo is now a Rider in full with her blade, you should christen both of your new extensions of yourselves with a sparing match. Holo, guard both of your new swords please."

Holo did as instructed and took up her stance opposite Lawrence as Brimisi seemed to take a referee's position between them both. Holo took a defensive posture while Lawrence raised his above his head with the tip aimed at Holo in attack. Lawrence threw the first strike, aimed at Holo's torso, but was deflected by Fyrngarm. Holo then went on the offensive and delivered a barrage of attacks at lightning speed all over Lawrence. He struggled to block them all, but somehow only just managed to keep his footing. Then he noticed an area of stone to his left. He fell back making for it quickly. As he did, it seemed his footing indeed became surer. His balance had improved, and his steps seemed to know on their own which path to take. This allowed him to get a little more gutsy with his own attacks and defenses.

Lawrence bent backward with his sword at an angle so as to cause Holo's sword to skate downward while he threw his shoulder into her body. This knocked her off balance, but she used the momentum to spin around and catch Lawrence unawares from behind and put Fyrngarm to his neck. "I win. Or should we go again?" Holo said triumphantly. Lawrence raised his hands in surrender. "You win Holo. Although, I thought I had you there for a second at the end." Holo just smiled as she replied. "You almost did. But I used my scabbard against you."

Lawrence looked at her in confusion. "Let me explain my dear. I simply put the tip of Fyrngarm close to the scabbard so as to move it to the blade. Then I jerked my hand in the direction I wanted to spin while actually trying to spin myself. The extra force made me move rather quickly and let me take your back. Had Rhunôn not put that enchantment on my sword, I would have lost to you just then." Lawrence took solace in the fact that he could at least win a straight up fight against her, but still had to concede that she was the smarter fighter. He could never come up with a tactic so fast that was so ingenious. Brimisi flooded Holo's mind with congratulations

After they caught their breath, Eragon spoke up. "I have a confession to make. Both Saphira and I have been hiding something from you." All three of them looked Eragon and Saphira earnestly. "We are not nearly as strong as we seem. While we do have great power, it's not ours alone. We have the power of a few hundred Dragons as well." Lawrence didn't seem to know what to say, but Holo and Brimisi seemed the most shocked. "What do you mean masters?" Holo said first. "_Exactly! What is this about?_" Followed Brimisi.

"_Calm yourselves please. This is my place to explain._" The voice came from Umaroth. Holo, Brimisi, and Lawrence all looked around for the source of who was talking to them. But it was Holo who identified where the source lay first. "I knew you always had to have had something behind you right there! I could just faintly sense a consciousness emanating from that very spot, but I could never prove it, so I let it go after a month or two. But what magic…"

Umaroth cut her off before she could finish. "_Please, silence your questions for now. We have important things to discuss. Such questions are for after we attain a favorable outcome. We are essentially living Dragons whose bodies have been long dead. We Dragons have inside us a gemlike object called an Eldunari that can possess our consciousness after body death. We can live on in that crystallization of ourselves forever if we choose to. As we are, we cannot move, but we can think and provide power. As it stands, we are responsible for the invasion of your mind before you first met Eragon and Saphira, not those two. It was us he spoke to as he was still learning your language, as we had memorized all of it and translated each sentence before he spoke it. It was us who found the location of Malice. And it will be us who gives you all strength if you must fight her._"

Lawrence, Holo, and Brimisi nearly lost their bottom jaws as they dropped so soundly. After the endless torrent of questions that ensued from each individual, which were taken all at the same time by different Eldunari, they finally got to the plan.

"_We will provide as much mental defense as we can as well as power to each of you. Lawrence, you will assist Eragon and Saphira in mental attack from as great a distance as you can manage. We will assist you in any way we can while giving you minimal power. Holo, Brimisi, Eragon, and Saphira will all be attacking the main body and therefore, will need more support from us physically. Eragon and Saphira will get most of our help though, considering they will be attacking on two fronts simultaneously. Holo, please decide which form you will be fighting in, as you may not have time to transform many times during battle. But if you find the need to do so, please allow us to shield you as best we can to give you time. However, knowing of your limitations in your wolf form, we suggest you only transform twice total as you have yet to suffer an episode before four transformations in less than five hours. Also, we can be your power source for magic in your two legs form. You need not worry about your limitations on magic with us. We will begin by finding Malice and attempting to reason with her. If we can calm her, we do not have to use this plan. But should negotiations fail, we will strike with no mercy and rid the world of a powerful foe._"

Holo and Brimisi seemed to itch for battle while Lawrence seemed nervous. It was decided that they would leave at nightfall for Malice. They didn't carry much food as it would only take them about twenty minutes on Dragon back to reach her. Almost everything carried was a provision of battle. Eragon had even produced a few healing items that he said could even heal great injuries on the spot without taking power from you. Holo received most of these items while Lawrence only received a handful, owing to his distance from the main fight. Eragon and Saphira only kept one or two for emergencies due to their proficiency in magic and the greater allotment of Eldunari to assist them. The final preparation was Eragon laying several wards over Lawrence, Holo, and Brimisi. In this instance, he didn't spare anything with Lawrence and gave him just as many as the others.

When the time came to leave, all in attendance were ready. Holo rode on Brimisi and Lawrence rode with Eragon on Saphira since Brimisi was not yet big enough to carry the weight of two easily. Time seemed to go by much more slowly than it actually did during the trip. The sense of tension in the air was palpable for the three Ploania natives.

Finally, they all reached a densely packed forest that they had to travel a little farther past to find an open field that could support two Dragons. But behind them in that forest was an old cottage containing the one they called Malice. After a decent walk towards her abode, she was already standing outside to meet them. She seemed to be a frail and weak old woman, yet the look in her eyes revealed the truth to anyone who could see it. This woman clearly was not as weak as she seemed.

Eragon spoke first to her. "Greetings mam. Do you have a minute to talk?" She was deliberate in her initial silence as she walked closer, examining each of the three who had approached her. But then she finally spoke as the distance between them was cut down to a quarter of what it had been.

"We all know why you are truly here. To kill me are you not?" She did not seem angry or accusing. She merely seemed to be stating facts as if they were the simplest things.

"We would like to avoid anything such as that at any and all possible costs. It's only that your presence does present a few headaches to people inhabiting this region, and we would like to understand that presence here to avoid misunderstandings that could have been solved through dialogue. May I ask your name please?" Eragon was as diplomatic as he could muster in his words. The old woman spoke. "My name is Alfbern. As for why I am here, one could say that you yourself caused this. I awoke from my slumber when I smelled and sensed a power I had not felt in millennia. The power of Elves flow through you." Eragon tensed. "And before you go correcting me, yes, I know. This is a power anyone could possess, as it is found in the very land itself as long as one can harness it. However, I have come to associate this scent with the ones who created the incarnations so long ago."

All in attendance froze. She knew the very nature of magic as well as the origin of the incarnations themselves? Knowing she was very old didn't seem to help them grasp that any easier. If she had this knowledge as it seemed, she must be one of the first incarnations to walk the earth.

"So why do you again walk again with such malice clearly emanating from your being? We could sense your mind and the desires of it quite clearly." Eragon asked. Alfbern took her time answering. "It is due to my hatred of those who created us. I made a promise long ago to never set my eyes on humans ever again after what they and the incarnations did to my mate, Adalbern. But now, both humans and incarnations have joined the power that created us in the first place and used us for twisted rituals. They killed us when they failed. Adalbern and I were some of the only survivors who lived after fighting back. And now you bring this power back to my presence after all this time. I will honor my ages old promise, but you are no longer human nor incarnation! You are all now the same monsters that I was forced to become! Explain to me how this should be allowed in my presence!"

All three recoiled at her revelations. Holo was the first to gather herself. "How were you made into a monster, miss Alfbern?" She had a look of venom as she remembered the long since past memories.

"Me and my mate were forced to learn magic and the ways of the mind, just as those barbarians used, solely so we and the others could fight back and escape. We were being used for experimentation on eternal life and necromancy. All who are animal incarnations have an ancestor from that day where those twisted Elves put a dead or dying one of their own onto a bound animal and merged them somehow. Very few of the abominations actually lived out of the number that were attempted. There were several dozen per animal that they could get their hands on. Even the creatures of the sea were not safe."

Holo was shocked to hear that marine incarnations existed as well, as she had never before encountered one. But Alfbern did not stop there. "But only about four or five per animal survived as we could not protect them all. We had to choose the strongest ones who could survive long enough to return to their packs and herds. Those bastards thought to kill us with magic after exposing me and my mate to the most magic of all. They had already made us immortal except by illness or intent, and since we were combined with dead or dying Elves, most actually had an affinity for magic as it stood anyway. My mate and I had still living elves inside of us, so we were among the strongest. We were forced to take to magic and mind and slaughter those who attempted to use it on us."

Suddenly, Alfbern's voice became accusing and angry. "But now, young wolf, you think to join this power willingly with your HUMAN mate who also possesses the power of monsters? And while in MY DOMAIN!? And worst of all, you bring the Elves power with you! I will destroy you all!"

Without any warning or substance eaten, Alfbern suddenly began to transform. She continued to simply grow larger and larger. Eventually, there was nothing left to transform. But she continued to grow in size. By this point, the three had already made it back to the Dragons and mounted. Holo actually joined Eragon on Saphira so Brimisi could take Lawrence to safety by the mountains.

The pocket space behind Lawrence contained about thirty or so Eldunari which were busying themselves helping to extend his mental range so he could aid with his mind well enough from the distance he was at. Holo stayed put on Saphira as Eragon attacked with magic and mind from a distance until Brimisi returned. When she did, Holo jumped over and used the seventy or so Eldunari in the pocket space of her own to begin her own magical assaults. She had chosen to remain in her human form so as to remain mobile and do the most good for the longest time. She would only transform if absolutely necessary.

Well into the beginning of their combined attacks, Alfbern had finally reached sizes of unseen proportions. She was large enough to use some of the world's tallest mountains as her throne. And as Eragon soon found out, Alfbern's instinct based magic was strong enough to cast wards of considerable strength that prevented his use of instantly fatal magic, such as ones targeting arteries or major organs. She was immune to the elements and their swords had minimal effect, as they just couldn't cut her deep enough to matter. But it was enough to make her angry. Alfbern constantly began to swat at the Dragons, which to her seemed like nothing more than angry hornets that could shoot their stingers.

What was the real threat to her were the mental attacks it seemed. She could attack without thinking, but she was working hard to defend against nearly three hundred Eldunari plus two Dragon Rider pairs and a human of considerable mental skill. While it wasn't hard to hit Alfbern, one strike landed by her would spell certain death. They all had to take great care to not get hit by her.

What was more astonishing than her physical skill was her mental ability. The fact that she was so clearly able to fight nearly three hundred opponents at once was truly a feat for the history books. Even with the help of the Eldunari during Eragon's fight with Galbatorix, he could still barely stand the barrage of Dragons who had gone mad. To be able to sustain the power of fully focused Dragons, save for a few who were simply too old to be bothered for more than energy, she had to be truly skilled indeed.

Every time they thought they were finally making progress into her mind, she would roar, sending out a blast of instinct based air magic coupled with mental energy that threw them off balance, making them often need to regain all footholds into Alfbern's mind. While that was the most effective thing she could do, the most dangerous was by far the added blades of wind she added to her claws. She moved air so fast past her claws that they would cut anything caught in their torrent to shreds. Brimisi got caught by one of those blades in the wing, almost causing them to die if it weren't for one of the healing items Eragon gave them.

No matter what, they simply couldn't make headway fast enough. When they temporarily tried to switch away from Alfbern's mind and put more energy into attacking the body, Alfbern simply began attacking all of those with physical bodies with her mind. This caused the Eldunari to have to go back to mental duties, unable to lend much support to those carrying them for the time being, physically speaking.

Much to the terror of all present, Alfbern finally caught her first victims. Holo and Brimisi struggled as they were both caught in the air with no escape. But oddly enough, she didn't kill them right away. Instead, she spoke to all in attendance for this fight, but primarily to Holo. "_I will entertain this fight later when you are all at full strength. But I will not be disgraced in a fight against an animal incarnation who refuses to fight as such! If you are to prevail against me, then so be it. The fact it shall take so many to defeat me is only a testament to my power. But I will not be mocked! Face me again when this young wolf is made whole. I caught her when the Dragons slept on their duties and left her mind open. I could see how torn her mind is. I will give you one week before I destroy everything you hold dear and take your lives. I promise to not harm you before then unless you attack me._"

At that last word, Alfbern released Holo and Brimisi. But Brimisi's wings were both broken in several places. Saphira had to dive in and catch Holo while the Eldunari combined their remaining strength to give Eragon just enough to catch the young Dragon, lowering her slowly to safety.

By the time Holo and Brimisi were on the ground with Eragon using the healing items on the injured pair, Saphira went to collect Lawrence and returned. At this point, Alfbern couldn't even be sensed. Quite likely, she had cast some instinct based spell of camouflage that shielded her presence from prying eyes. This was further proven when Eragon tried to scry Alfbern and only saw a dark void in the water where an image should have been.

Eragon recounted his thoughts on the strength of Alfbern quite plainly. "She is without a doubt, far stronger than I expected. To be able to fend off so many minds, and minds of Dragons no less! It's unheard of!" Umaroth put forth his feelings on the matter. "_It's not so odd a thing. To be so old and yet still in full control of her thoughts, it is fully possible. Just think of the immense minds of some of the older Dragons approaching the same age as Lady Holo. When they finally turn their mind on you, it feels as if you will be swallowed up by their mind alone, does it not? This one is old enough to have seen the Elves before they set foot in Alagaësia. Even Rhunôn isn't so old. That one is old enough to have a mind ready to slip into the same wanderings as some of the wild Dragons here. Her mind is also quite immense, as you likely remember. This being may very well be five to ten times older than even Rhunôn. I am not surprised she could have such a presence. Also, she was so single minded that there was almost no entry to make into her mind. With a presence that large, one cannot simply swat aside their defense like a buzzing insect. If only lady Holo had been using her mind the whole of her life, we might have had a better chance. But as it stands, we need a new strategy._"

And with that, the group made their way back to the mountains of Nyohhira to lick their wounds.


	11. On the Mend

**On the Mend**

The group decided to trust the words of Alfbern for what they were and made camp right there in the woods, albeit farther away from her cottage, without fear of her returning. As they made camp, Holo still complained of shortness of breath. "_It is simply that your mind has not yet returned from the battle. You are currently trying to be calm, but your mind is telling you to move quicker. It will pass in time. Eragon, bring the wine to Holo. That should help calm her nerves._"

Eragon did exactly as asked and handed her the wineskin. After a few minutes, Holo's shaking stopped. Lawrence however refused the skin in favor of simply holding his wife he nearly lost today. As they all calmed down, Eragon brought back a couple of rabbits that took refuge under ground during the fight at well as a few wild, edible plants. Eragon mainly ate the plants with a bit of the rabbit to give him a bit more energy while the rest almost entirely ate the rabbits alone.

Finally, Brimisi broke the silence. "_Holo, we need to do exactly what I've been saying all along. We need to fix your mind! Even Alfbern could see clearly that your mind was broken. And she was only in there for a few seconds! You can't tell me your situation can't be fixed after that!_"

Holo finally came to herself, but she was not happy. "Don't you think I want to?! I've been trying with all my might to just accept what has happened. To work past my brokenness. To mend my mind. I've tried everything! We've tried everything! And we've been trying for months. What could we do in a week that we haven't been able to do since we began?" Holo hugged her knees and pushed herself harder into Lawrence, burying her face into his chest.

"_We may have tried everything we know. But that doesn't mean we've tried everything. As for what we can do, we can try again._" Holo just looked at Brimisi, her eyes red and seeming on the verge of tears. "Whatever you want to try, it'll have to wait until morning. I'm going to sleep." And with that, she bodily dragged Lawrence with her as she didn't feel able to sleep alone right then.

_"In that case, I'm going out flying for a bit. I need to clear my head Holo. Don't worry about me._" At that Brimisi flew off before Holo could shout out no. Instead, she had to reach Brimisi's mind. "_Where do you think you're going Brimisi? I might need you tonight! We almost died! I need you near me!_" Holo was pleading. But Brimisi blocked Holo from the part of her mind that contained her intentions. Intentions she knew would give Holo fits. "_I will make you better Holo. __**I PROMISE.**_"

…

After flying half the night, Brimisi found what she was looking for. A very small, angry woman sitting at the edge of a mountain cave. It was close to where Holo's memory said her pack's-home-birthplace was supposed to be. It was here that Holo had lost her pack to the smaller than Alfbern, but just as deadly as Alfbern mate, the Moonhunting Bear. And it was here that the small, angry woman who was much bigger and angrier than she appeared, rested. From a distance, Brimisi could smell her blood. But when she got close, the small, angry woman only had minor cuts everywhere no bigger than when Lawrence slips during dinner and cuts his finger a little. So, they truly must have been nothing to her.

True to Alfbern's promise, she did not attack Brimisi when she sensed her approaching. "_Alfbern, I must ask. Can my dear Holo be saved from her state? We've already tended to her body just as mine has already been healed. But we do not know what to do for her mind. You said you wanted to fight when she was whole, but is that even possible? We've tried ever since the day after I hatched to fix what broke the same day I hatched. We just don't know what to do anymore. I know you are our enemy and you wish to take our lives, but in order to follow your wishes, we need assistance. Please, help me fix my Rider!_"

Alfbern seemed annoyed. But annoyed in a way that a grandparent would be about their grandkids keeping them from sleep with urges to play late at night, and not as you would expect an enemy to be reacting to the people trying to kill her suddenly asking for aid. "Calm yourself, young Dragon. Your young wolf is mendable. The damage is her own doing. She caused it herself and can just as simply fix it herself. She need only try to fix what caused her struggles in the first place, whatever that may be. It's not that she needs to fix her mind entirely. Just what caused her to fragment. Now be gone! Before I interpret your questioning as an attack on my psyche and kill you in an instant!"

"_Thank you, Mighty Old One. I wish we could have known you under more favorable conditions._" Alfbern said one more thing to Brimisi before she flew off. "I don't hate the Dragons. And my hatred for the animal incarnations and humans have long since worn away into time. Only my hatred of Elves has remained the same. From my time in your precious Rider's mind, I know that the one who helps you is not one of them, but only bares resemblance to them. Even the ones he seems to know are not the same as they of my time. Even so, one cannot forget as easily as that, the hatred that kept you alive for millennia. I just wish to rest in peace. To hibernate for quite a long, long, LONG, time. When I wake up, I wish to be so small, I would need to eat a continent's worth of food to regain my former size. Maybe then this hatred in my heart could finally abate. Oh my. Look at me. Thinking out loud again. Don't let this old bear keep you from your loved ones."

With that, Alfbern stood up and walked inside the cave, leaving Brimisi completely confused. "_Does she… WANT to die?_" Brimisi shook her head to clear her thoughts and left back towards Holo and the others. "_A sleep that long would kill her anyway. Does she just want to walk among people again? Is that why she wants to be smaller? Or… does she want… US… to kill her? What am I saying! Of course she doesn't want us to kill her! She almost killed us! But… she didn't. Instead she gave us a chance to become stronger. And she let me know that Holo can be saved. Alfbern, what do you want?_"

At last, Brimisi returned to Holo and the others before settling in beside the sleeping Holo. But as soon as she was about to lay down her head, Holo's mind raced into hers. "_Brimisi! Where did you go all night?! I have been worried sick!_" Holo's expression never once changed physically, but the color of her mind showed that she wasn't even slightly asleep.

"_Holo, I went to see Alfbern. And before you worry, she did exactly as I expected. She helped me with reluctance and threatened to kill me if I didn't leave right then. But she, seems sad. It is as if she wants to die._"

As Holo watched Brimisi's memory, she too was confused by what Alfbern said. "_Well, if tis true that she longs for death, then I shall gladly give it to her. She and her mate, however reformed she may now be, still must atone for the crimes they committed. Her mate has paid his price. Now too must she. Even if I must forgive her, I will still judge her. But if what she says about me is true, then I haven't the slightest idea what I should fix. If it is not our bond that caused it, but me alone, then I haven't a clue of what to do._"

Brimisi flooded her mind and gave her energy while caressing Holo's mind to go to sleep. Eventually the old wolf succumbed to sleep and drifted off. Brimisi thought of at least the beginning of a plan.

The next day, they all got up and packed camp. But before they set out, Brimisi called for everyone to stop. "_I need to speak to all the Dragons, NOW! This can't wait!_" At once, all of the Eldunari, save for the old ones who couldn't be bothered, had their attentions piqued. "_You summoned us, young one?_" Umaroth responded.

"_Yes, I did. Is there not a single precedence for what Holo is going through? Is there nothing you can do to help her? Or are we going to just sit here and let everyone here die? We are Dragons and Dragon Riders, save for Lawrence alone, who has mighty powers of the mind himself. Is there nothing we can do!_" Brimisi was on the verge of pure rage.

Umaroth responded delicately. "_Young one, calm yourself. I understand your frustration. Truly, I feel sympathy for you, as I have felt the pain of losing my Rider while I yet live. I can only imagine the pain you two have felt over these long months, enduring that pain over and over again. But there is nothing that has happened like that in the entire history of the order. We know not what we can do for her._" Umaroth seemed to be begging Brimisi to understand.

But Brimisi wouldn't have it. "_You think to tell me that there is not one, single, instance, where a Dragon and Rider have changed, both physically and mentally, no matter how slight, and either lost, or kept, their bond? You wish to tell me that such a thing is so entirely unheard of in the thousands of years your little Order has been established?_" Brimisi likely would have pounced on the far older Dragon should he have had a physical body to attack right then.

Suddenly, the color of Umaroth's mind changed. "_Actually, there is one such Dragon among us now. Glaedr. Your presence is in dire need._"

At once, Brimisi, as well as everyone present, felt a dark storm cloud of pain and sadness. Eragon made to inform Brimisi of his old instructor, and his tragic past. "Brimisi, you are about to meet my old teacher. He lost his Rider close to twenty years ago and has yet to fully recover. He wakes from his sadness every now and then on his own and at least responds when directly called apon now. He didn't do so before. Be thankful that he has at least recovered this much. But please, be patient with him. This is the most recent case of a bonded pair being separated in such a way, and the effects are quite long lasting. Go easy on him."

Brimisi didn't want to go easy on him, especially at the request of Eragon. But Saphira entered her mind just before she was about to dive into the elder Dragon's mind. "_Brimisi. Please honor my Rider's wish. This is my own master who taught me most everything I know about being a Dragon. Very little did I learn afterward. He was even gracious enough to share memories about my parents who died in the fall of the Riders. I beg you to go at his pace. We only wish to help him, just as you want to help Holo._"

"_Fine. I will do as you ask, Master Saphira. Glaedr, are you able to hear me?_" The old Dragon was a long time coming in his response. "_Yes… young one. Why is it that you wish to speak to me?_" It felt to Brimisi as if he had just been dragged out of a particularly dark depression the likes of which she wished she never experienced. She almost felt it was unbecoming of a Dragon, but stopped herself when she remembered his circumstances.

"_Master, I was told that you encountered a situation with your Rider that was similar to that which occurred between my Rider and myself. You see, Holo is not human nor is she Elf. She is what this land calls an animal incarnation. It turns out that they are the result of magical experimentation from the first Elves before making it to your land. They are the immortal cross between a dead or dying Elf and an animal. She can readily change her form between that of a human form and that of a wolf. Although the wolf is her true form, as she called it before I was hatched. However, after I hatched, and Holo transformed, our bond was nearly severed. What was your situation that made the other elders request you to talk to me?_"

The ancient Dragon pondered the younger Dragon's question for a long, agonizing time. Finally, Glaedr's voice boomed in everyone's mind. "_I thank you for giving me time to work through my memories. I can see your desire for knowledge now, but it is difficult for me. I still have pains from thinking of Oromis. As for your question, during the fall of the Riders, my bond mate and I were attacked by the Wyrdfell. They had an unusual spell that separated my bond mate from magic. It caused him great pains over the course of his life. But in order to escape, he cast a spell that changed the nature of our beings, ever so slightly shifting the order of our bodies, and freed us as a result. Our thinking and bodies were never quite the exact same ever since. Is that the event of which you sought?_"

Brimisi nodded. "_Yes. Were you separated from your Rider after that master?_" Glaedr seemed to almost not understand the question. "_No. Why would we have been?_" Brimisi thought long and hard. "_So, it really is in Holo's mind? Whatever is causing this is her own doing?_"

"_In order to answer that, I will need to examine the mind of your Rider. Where is she?_" Glaedr asked wearily. Holo stepped up to her Dragon and responded. "_I am here master Glaedr. Examine whatever you will._"

Over the next several minutes, no one spoke as Glaedr examined Holo's memories over the past five months since becoming a Rider. When he finally completed his inspection, he pulled away from her mind with great sympathy. "_You have my regards, Old One. I would never take your place to reverse your pain. Such is the enormity of what you have endured. But why do you let it continue? Or better yet, how have you not seen the answer. All of you Dragons, how have none of you seen the cause of this new bond's plight. For shame!_" The force of Glaedr's rage almost extended to the physical.

It took Holo a moment to gather her thoughts. "_Forgive me, but I still know not the answer. Please just tell me._" Glaedr seemed to have no intentions of making her figure it out for herself. "_Old one, you simple need to stop thinking that you will break your bond! You have let yourself be convinced that you have two different minds and that only one was bonded to Brimisi. While the state of your mind changes slightly, and your form completely changes, you haven't actually changed at all. You simply need to reconnect to your former self and your past way of thinking. You need to stop fearing the break, and realize that it should never have happened as you embrace your partner of heart and mind._"

Holo looked on in amazement. Brimisi spoke up though. "_It's exactly as I've been telling you Holo! I knew this shouldn't be. You should have just listened to me from the start!_" Brimisi actually shouted this in anger as she slammed her giant talons down on Holo's chest, pinning her to the ground. "_We're fixing this. TODAY! I don't want to hear any arguments from you now._" Holo only let her tears flow as she accepted her Dragon's rage for the love that was behind it.

Glaedr interrupted as their moment was reaching a close. "_I do wish to know what caused you to think this way. I did not examine all of your thoughts, nor even all of them just since Brimisi hatched. I only sought those memories concerning your transformations and what you felt during each one. Why have you come to the conclusion that your bond would end if you transformed into your other state?_" Glaedr was sincere in his questioning.

"_Master, I was told by Eragon that…_" Immediately, Holo was cut off by Glaedr. "_Do not continue any farther. My pupil was the one who thought on his own and put thoughts in your head that something terrible would happen and let you think up terrible things on your own, wasn't he?_" Holo nodded, but seemed terribly confused. "_Yes, but, why do you say it like that master? Was he not right though?_"

"_NO! HE WAS THE FARTHEST THING FROM RIGHT AND IS THE REASON YOU'RE SUFFERING SO GREATLY! Eragon you will suffer whatever wrath this bonded pair decides of you, barring your resignation or loss of life or limb! Holo and Brimisi, how should I put this? Eragon is a splendid, wonderful, and caring person. But… he was far from my brightest pupil and tends to worry about things he shouldn't and either gets himself or others, sometimes both, into great trouble. He is not a great scholar. Far from it. You should not have listened to him and I humbly apologize on his behalf. You deserved far better than him for your teacher._"

Eragon sat quietly in his humiliation as Saphira eyed him in sheer rage. Never before had Saphira truly detested something that Eragon had done so thoroughly as to wish ill for him. But the suffering he caused this time was inexcusable. "_You will suffer my wrath as well, Little One._" As calmly as those words were spoken, Eragon had never felt more afraid. After all, Saphira knew everything that he feared most in this world and how to best use it to hurt him.

Finally, Holo again spoke to the wise Dragon. "_Master, how should I go about mending my old way of thinking? I would assume I should simply spend time as a wolf, but the pain is too great! I cannot bear it! Do you assume that knowing it shouldn't happen would help to lessen the pain?_"

Glaedr seemed sad about what he was getting ready to say. "_Old one, does a cut not itch as it heals? Does your body not tremble as it fends off illness? So too, does a mental wound feel uncomfortable as it heals. I saw in your memories that your attacks came as you began to feel as a wolf would again. And they never happened in your human form because you felt the farthest from a wolf in that form. What you need to do is no doubt going to cause you great pain. But you need to take on your true form as a wolf, together with Brimisi, and reclaim who you are. Do not leave that form until you again know who and what you are. This will be more painful than you should have to bear, and I will personally help comfort you in any way that I can. Later, I will give Eragon a punishment of my own._" Glaedr's thoughts became incredibly dark just then.

Holo then made up her mind on what to do. "_Masters, if it requires me to be in my wolf form, then put master Glaedr inside of my space for the Eldunari and I will walk with Brimisi back home. Lawrence, you may come if you desire, but I fear you would only worry if you came, and I would rather you didn't._"

Lawrence ran to Holo and took her hands. "Holo, I will be coming with you as there is plenty I can do. I can comfort you as best as I can and encourage you if you should falter. If nothing else, I will enter your mind if only to share in the agonizing pain you feel so you are not alone! Holo, don't shut me out from this!"

"If you insist. I will not be going very quickly until I am healed in the mind, so we will be doing without plentiful food for a while." Holo said flatly. Saphira replied to Holo's attempt to dissuade Lawrence. "_I will bring you both enough food for a week later tonight. I will contact Miss Hanna so she will bring to me exactly what it is she feels will save, that way Eragon will not need to step foot inside of your house again, nor will he touch the items I will bring._"

Holo appreciated the effort everyone was putting forth to see her return to herself. "Thank you. All of you. I will become better. I promise."

And with that, the group split with Eragon and Saphira heading back to Nyohhira and Lawrence, Holo, Brimisi, and now Glaedr, heading there on foot after Holo transformed into a wolf. The journey was already taking its toll on Holo after the first hour. Even with knowing the cause, Glaedr was still correct in the pain not going away.

Holo had granted permission to the seventy some Eldunari who inhabited the pocket space access to all of her memories as they walked together. This was so that they could allow her to relive memories of her past as they traveled, particularly those that made her feel especially wolf-like. Her first successful hunt. Her first shed coat of fur. Days basking in the sun while drinking with the bears. They ended when Holo was having so much difficulty that she couldn't think. Glaedr then took control of Holo's weary body and mind as he worked a spell through her and forced her to utter a single word. "Slytha." With that one word uttered from Holo's mouth, she collapsed unconscious on her side.

"_We will make camp here for the night. Holo needs to sleep and after you both set up, join me and the other Eldunari in Holo's mind. We will continue to give her pleasant dreams of fond memories as a wolf, but you two should simply shower her in love and affection._" Glaedr said this with pain in his voice as if he so fully understood Holo's pain that he was currently feeling it himself. In all likelihood, he probably was.

Brimisi was worried as she helped set up camp by getting firewood from the forest. "_Lawrence, Holo's going to be alright, isn't she?_" The fact that Brimisi was doubting now, only strengthened the understanding of just how much pain Holo was really in right now. "I know that she will make it through this. She's been through some very tough things to get here. She's also one of the most obstinate, stubborn, and hardheaded people I've ever met. She would never let a little pain like this get in her way when she knows what awaits her at the end of it. Don't you worry. She'll be fine. But that's why we need to hurry up here and comfort her quickly. The better she feels, the faster she will feel comfortable in her true form again." Brimisi nodded.

After they had set up camp and cooked dinner, they both entered into Holo's mind and flooded her with good thoughts. At once, Holo's tremors stopped and she relaxed. It seemed that she had finally calmed enough to allow sleep to invade her mind at last, and not simply her body. Now they just had to endure whatever was to come the next day.


	12. A Rider Made Whole

**A Rider Made Whole**

When Holo woke the next day, she began by nuzzling Lawrence awake so he wouldn't be on her foreleg anymore. But he quickly went back to sleep after she got up as it was still too early in the morning. Holo then smelled the leftover beans sitting in the pot over the smoldering embers from last night's fire. She stuck her snout in the pot after checking if it was too hot and began licking the contents clean from inside of it.

She then went to the stream to drink some water after eating the slightly burnt beans. Not too long after, she felt across her mental link with Brimisi that she was waking up. Suddenly Brimisi became very worried. Holo could sense that Brimisi was in a panic over Holo not being there, but soon calmed as she sensed where she was after a brief time. But just as suddenly as it left, her panic reappeared even stronger than when it first came to her. "_Holo, please don't tell me you transformed again! Not after all you went through! I thought you were stronger than this!_"

Holo was the epitome of confusion, and it reverberated over their bond like a plucked string. "_H…Holo?_"

"_What are you talking about Brimisi? I am still in my wolf form as we speak. I licked the pot of beans you ate without me last night clean before walking to this stream to wash the taste of ash from my mouth. Where is all of this about transforming back into my human form coming from?_" Holo just couldn't figure it out.

"_Holo, if you truly are in your wolf form, then do you not feel it?_" Brimisi said in almost a whisper.

Holo almost rolled her eyes as she started thinking about what her Dragon was trying to tell her. Everything felt fine. She was rested, she had food in her belly, even though it was awful. She had spent time with her pack that she loved so deeply. And despite the concern that was also radiating from Brimisi, she could feel all of her love and admiration as well, clear as a bell.

"_Wait, what?_" Holo began to think to herself without letting it cross their link. "_Is this really what it appears to be?_" Holo was almost in tears again. "_Brimisi, Lawrence, Master Glaedr! All of you, WAKE UP! I'll be back shortly!_"

Lawrence tore awake quickly as Holo invaded the deepest parts of him while shouting inside his head. Glaedr just rumbled out of his slight depression that had yet to fully take him again due to his sense of duty to stay alert for Holo.

It didn't take long before Holo was back in front of them with a look of longing on her face. "_Please, all of you, enter my mind and tell me what you see. Nothing is off limits. Tell me what you see!_" They all had different reactions as they all realized what was going on. Brimisi began crying softly as she looked deeply into Holo's eyes. Glaedr seemed satisfied and offered congratulations. Lawrence fell on his rear and put his face in his hands. "You did it Holo. You're whole again. I knew you could do it."

Holo just beamed as she radiated joy to all currently connected with her. She quickly broadened her mental connection to the other tens of Eldunari she had with her. "_Thank you so much masters! I couldn't have achieved this so quickly without all of your help. I am in your eternal debt._"

The Eldunari seemed to choose Glaedr as their mouthpiece while with Holo. "_It seems they all wish to convey their gratitude for your appreciation. But they feel it is not what should be happening, as this is a situation that should never have taken place at all. They wish to also convey their apologies for letting Eragon's words affect you to such a degree and say that they are forever in YOUR debt. Should you ever have need of something, they are more than happy to lend you aid._"

"_All I ask is that you assist me and my mate of ridding this land of a great criminal who should never have lasted this long after the genocide of so many. In a few days, we shall have vengeance!_"

After breaking down their camp and packing onto Brimisi what came with them, Holo and Lawrence mounted Brimisi after the Eldunari stated that, with their help, she would have enough strength to carry them both as well as their things. Without taking too long, they all made it back to Nyohhira and landed by Saphira.

Lawrence was the first to notice, or feel the need to ask, about the missing person. "Where's Eragon? You made it clear that you personally wouldn't let him in the bathhouse ever again after the trouble he's caused, so I know he's not there."

"_First off, allow me to congratulate you on recovering yourself, Holo. I am truly happy this was not permanent. Second, as much as it pains me too, Lawrence, I have separated my consciousness from him, as we taught Holo and Brimisi, in as close to a likeness of what they went through as I can manage. Ever since we left you all, I have had my consciousness separate from his. I will not acknowledge him no matter what. I told him that for as long as Holo is suffering, so shall he. But regardless, it will not last less than four days. He is now on day two._" Saphira spoke all of this while sounding quite tired.

Holo didn't seem excited about his punishment. "That is not a punishment I would have wanted for him. Tis too harsh, even for what has happened as a result. Bonded pairs such as ourselves should never part with our Dragons or Riders. He meant well, even if he was an utter fool."

Saphira wouldn't give in though. "_You may not wish it, but it is the first of many punishments I will assign to him. What you assign to him will be your own. He is currently on the other side of the mountain. I sent him there in isolation. Even the Eldunari have gone silent to him. They have only chosen to stay with him in case of a threat. Worry not though. He can take care of himself._"

Holo looked down. "Still, I should at least talk to him." Just as Holo began making her way to him, Saphira snaked her tail in front of her. "_I appreciate your concern, but I ask you to not interfere with my choice of punishment for the time being. I will not interfere with yours even if you choose to harm him, baring permanent disfigurement, lifelong injury, or death. I request that you not choose such methods, but I will not stop you if you choose that path. And since I did nothing to prevent it, I will accept your wrath if you should turn it on me as well._"

Holo looked horrified. "What kind of wolf do you think I am!? Just because he caused me pain does not mean that I shall needlessly inflict it on him. While the punishment I have chosen will indeed cause him soreness for a short while to come, and no doubt will there be pain, I will not have him be defenseless against me! And how could you even think that I would ever be upset at the one who tried to safeguard against his foolishness when I first transformed after becoming bonded?!"

Saphira was confused. "_How exactly do you plan on punishing my Rider, if I may ask that?_" Holo adopted the mischievous grin she hadn't used in a long time. "I will simply have him spar. That is all." Saphira's confusion never wavered. "_But will you be giving him a handicap? You are not strong enough with the sword to best him in a manor that will grant you vengeance._"

Holo's grin just widened. "I will not be the only one he fights. I wish for him to spar against every. Single. Member. Of the Order. The Strongest of you all shall start. Finally, the weakest of you will fight him last. I will have the final match when he is tired. But I expect him to defend himself as he would on a battlefield. He is allowed no armor, no mental fighting, save for defense, and no help of any kind. However, those he fights are allowed all of these. They can attack his mind and body with any tactic they choose, including magic. I will leave the specifics of how that is implemented to you. But I expect these matches to be consecutive. Each opponent is allowed the strength of their Dragon to supplement their own. The only help Eragon shall receive will be medical. He will rest only when he can no longer wield a sword. But only enough to wield again. He will only be given strength when rest is insufficient. This will be his punishment."

Holo's eyes grew stern. "I do not wish him to be punished much beyond that. As you asked, I will not interfere now. But I do ask that you not continue after this one is over." Saphira nodded. "_I understand Old One. His last punishment from me will be a joint task between me and the Eldunari of informing Queen Arya of his spectacular blunder apon reaching Elesmera. That will be his final shame aside from you._"

Saphira shook her head in sudden confusion. "_Wait. How do you plan to fight him after the rest of the Order does? Your life is here. We cannot expect you to travel back with us. Your lives are here._"

Holo stole a glance at Lawrence, who only nodded with resolve. Brimisi didn't seem to care either way. "We will be leaving this place shortly after we resolve our problem of Alfbern. We have decided to turn over the rights of the Spice and Wolf Bathhouse to Miss Hanna and Miss Salim and her brother. They are all fine people who will run our shop well. My daughter Myuri knows about me and has been sent one of those odd mirrors you both taught me to make so I can communicate with her at will. I may need your help in the future should she want to join us though. Brimisi may not be large enough for such a trip if she wants to come early."

Saphira nodded happily. "_I would be honored to ferry your young to my homeland for you. But how do YOU plan on making it there? It takes all of the Eldunari lending aid to get us there in the first place. And it takes a full two weeks on Dragon back at that. I don't think I could stomach that trip at twice as long, if not longer should you joins us on our trip back home. And I know not if the ports here are even aware of the existence of our land. We certainly weren't aware of yours._"

Holo thought long and hard, but it was Lawrence who answered. "Could Eragon gather about one or two thousand gold pieces? That should be enough to cover a month at sea and the return trip for the boat master, going in a direction that doesn't make sense, all while not giving a destination before realizing the money is also for silence after seeing a Dragon that will be staying on top of the ship after leaving port. If at all possible, once we are a month out, we could meet another Rider, if that is possible, that could bring more Eldunari, if it's not too much trouble. Otherwise it may take five times as long and significantly more money. Not to mention the dangers of sea travel lasting that long on uncharted waters."

Saphira thought for a moment. "_Holo, if your bond truly is restored, then I will need you to cast the scrying spell for me to contact Queen Arya. And if I may borrow your mouth to speak since our language is different than yours, and it would be difficult to simply relay what I wish to say._" Holo nodded and cast the spell without fail, as she now had full access to her magic while in her human form.

Saphira was first in front of the mirror connected to Arya in order to show who was contacting her. "Saphira, so, it is you who wishes to talk to me. What would you like to discuss? Is there any word on the poor girl's condition?" To Holo, the woman was almost feline in her features when she could finally see past Saphira's hulking mass. Saphira gently took control of Holo's mind and began to talk through her. "Queen Arya, I am Saphira, speaking through Miss Holo here, as Eragon still has another two and a half days of punishment before I allow him back." Arya only betrayed the slightest hint of surprise. "Punishment? What did he do?"

"We will discuss what caused that apon our return. However, we have a request that once we arrive, a second elder pair be sent out along the same path as ours to collect Holo, her mate Lawrence, and the young Dragon, Brimisi. They will need to be carrying enough Eldunari to assist both themselves and a young Dragon with two passengers at least half the distance we traveled, if not more. They will be traveling by boat for the same period of time we are flying. This will be a long trip, and I fear I will not be up to the task of going out again after two weeks straight of flight."

Arya thought for a moment. "We will be able to grant that request. If I may ask one thing concerning Eragon's punishment. Does this have anything to do with Holo that I may have to make amends for later?"

Saphira paused for a moment as she spoke with Holo. "She says that amends will be made soon, here." Arya nodded and spoke in a dignified manor, even more so than before. "In that case, I will meet you at the shoreline with a store of Eldunari enough to tide over Firnen and take Eragon's store in order to aid Brimisi in carrying Holo, while Firnen carries Lawrence and myself. How do you plan to have us find them? Are their minds strong enough to seek us out?"

"Master Glaedr has taken it apon himself to stay with Holo until we are safely out of harm's way, as way of apology for his student's failure. More on that when we arrive as well, seeing as you cannot do anything for us at this time." Arya suddenly expressed true concern. "If you say it Saphira, then the danger must be formidable. But I will await your safe return after victory to hear the tail."

Saphira nodded through Holo. "I appreciate your generosity Queen Arya. Holo wishes to send her thanks as well for a queen coming to her personally as a guide to her new home to be."

Arya allowed a smile to grace her face. "You are quite welcome Miss Holo. If I am not misunderstanding the personalities of you and your husband that Saphira has given me, you are not the only one who has chosen someone very foolish for their mate. Please don't be too harsh with him. If Saphira sees fit to punish Eragon in such a way, I can only imagine what he did to you."

With Holo understanding the meaning of Arya's words, she asked Saphira to be able to speak for herself. After being advised to speak in the ancient language in order to bridge the language barrier, Holo spoke directly to Arya. "**I would like to thank you myself. I would also like to apologize for your misfortune as well.**" Holo added a bit of mischief in her voice at the end. "**Truly, is it all males, or just these two we have all chosen?**" The three shared a laugh end ended the spell.

"Well Saphira, I like her. But what does she see in him?" Saphira simply shook her head. "_He means well. He really does. If you can see fit to forgive him, you might see it too._" The rest of the day was spent in fine company with food and drink to celebrate Holo's return to self.

Eragon however, was having a much different experience.


	13. Conversations Between Monsters

**Conversations Between Monsters**

Eragon was on his second day of punishment from Saphira. While he was trying to distract himself with business, the sheer and utter lack of contact was getting to Eragon. The way he was distracting himself though was through going over the last battle. Something about it seemed… off somehow. The battle itself seemed to go far too smoothly. Physically speaking, that is.

Alfbern seemed to have actually tried to block most of what he himself threw at the enormous bear, but almost seemed to allow what Holo did. And most telling of all, only Holo and Brimisi were injured. And even then, not enough to ever kill them. Alfbern let them live after deftly catching the pair so easily. She didn't even look when she captured them! He realized this at the last second.

"Was she, going easy on us? If so, she is the single most deadly opponent I have ever faced. This bear might have even been able to take on Galbatorix if Shruikan was not present. And even then…" Eragon's mind trailed off at the possibilities. "I'm actually glad for a change Saphira's not inside my head right now. She'd definitely try and stop me from doing something this reckless." A daring smile danced about his lips as he cast out his mind in all directions searching for his target.

It didn't take long, as she almost seemed to send out a clarion call to announce her location at his summons. "_What is it with you and your group seeking my attention after being so soundly defeated by me? It's as if you all yearn for death._"

This confused Eragon. "_What do you mean? Am I not the first of our group to speak with you after that day?_" The great, old bear sighed. "_So, the young green one said nothing of our encounter, did she? Is the wolf at least healed? That's what she sought from me after all. We can continue our duel if that is the case._" Alfbern said this as if in pain herself.

"_We found yesterday that I was the one who caused her such pain in my attempts at being wise. Saphira has cut herself off from me for another two and a half days in penance. But she did at least relay to me through others that Holo is again of one mind._" Eragon said with pain of his own.

"_So, the infant Dragon did find some wisdom in my words. Good for her._" Alfbern seemed to speak with sarcasm, but that wasn't entirely the case. There was an undertone of gladness in her tone. "_What is it that you sought me for, if not to simply tell me the ending of my last conversation?_" Eragon steeled himself as he spoke to his foe. "_You don't want to kill us, do you?_"

Alfbern was silent for a time. It was as if he could feel her enjoying the breeze on her face, as it seemed she had deepened their connection of her own accord. "_Make no mistake, Rider. I want you and your kind to perish for what happened so long ago. And I would be very happy to be the one to cause that death. But one cannot live as long as I have on the thought of vengeance alone. I have accepted the fact that one must move on somehow. You are not the one who altered my mind that day. You are not even the same race, as I can now see clearly from both your mind and hers. And as for the wolf, I have caused her just as much pain as those Elves did to me. The pain in her heart is great. If she cannot overcome this, then she might become just the same as I. However, I shall not simply roll over and die so easily. And if she cannot, then she will die. And the rest of you shall follow soon after._"

Eragon responded with respect in his tone. "_So, you were going easy on us, weren't you?_" Alfbern seemed amused by that. "_You caught me, eh? I must be slipping in my old age. At least you are clearly aware of your powerlessness against one such as I. Yes, this farce of a battle is solely for the benefit of the young wolf and the rest of my kind. The animal incarnations have suffered greatly at our hands. My mate and I likely caused as much trouble in recent years as the original struggle against the Elves in the first place._" A dark smile of past, haunted memories plagued her mind.

Eragon finally posed his true question. "_What is it that you wish to accomplish, exactly? Regardless of your desire, you do not seem to have intentions of killing us._" Eragon could feel the resolve in her mind. "_I wish for that wolf and her mate to finally kill me. I have lived this life, reviled by others, for far too long. There is no longer a place in this world for me. The power of the incarnations has faded here, and human hands have taken control. Should I flee to your land, I will be seen by that wolf who will likely follow you. I have lived alone for hundreds of years. One can only sleep for so long. I wish for that wolf to end my suffering and claim her own vengeance and happiness for herself. Make this a final battle for the history books please. Even if she's the only one to write it, and the incarnations are the only one's who read it. I want this battle to be remembered as it should be. A monster paid for her crimes and a brave hero achieved victory._"

Alfbern seemed to make a twitch of her thoughts and stole most every piece of information in Eragon's mind. "A few _more things. It should go without saying, this first one. Neither the wolf nor her Dragon need to know about this. Although little green may already have an inkling of the truth. Second, as you noticed, I needed no offering to change my form as the wolf does. In time, she may learn as well that she can access that power with her mind as I have, with a strong enough will. One's essence still dwells within such things, but it will no longer be necessary to transform. And lastly, …_"

Alfbern told him something that didn't seem to make sense. She said all would be made clear in time, but only after her death. After which, she forcefully expunged him from her mind and blocked any further access, flinging him back to his own body. Again, the isolation hit Eragon hard. He remembered vividly just how much time he still had to go before he would be whole again himself.

"Did Alfbern expand our contact so I could speak freely, and without pain to her?" Eragon put his head in his hands as he realized what they would soon have to do to a tortured soul who was, in all actuality, quite kind. He did not look forward to this new assignment.


	14. A Final Battle

**A Final Battle, A Final Wish**

At the end of Eragon's punishment, he was not greeted by Saphira flooding his mind with contact. There was not even the slightest trickle of mental energy from her. And as he tried to contact her, she was still actively baring him from her mind. This made no sense to Eragon until the last person he expected to see began approaching him, sitting on her haunches beside him.

"Of all the people to rescue me from this isolation, I expected you the least, Holo. I'm sorry for what I put you through. It was not my intent." Holo said nothing as she stared off into the distance. Eragon just sat quietly, awaiting her verdict.

Finally, Holo stirred to look him in the eyes with one of her enormous, wolf eyes. She reminded him of Saphira when she was upset at what he had done, but not at him specifically. "_True, you did put me through great pain. And not only me, but my dear Brimisi. And my mate Lawrence, too. All of us have suffered greatly from your actions. But it was your actions that caused this. Not your intent. My own actions have backfired before while I intended well. My dear Lawrence has unfortunately been the recipient of this many times. I meant well, only to cause harm. But he forgave me all the same. A few of those times, even apologizing himself as if he was the one in the wrong the whole time. I shall learn from his example and forgive your foolish actions due to the good intent behind them._" Holo returned to looking off into the distance, as she did when she arrived.

"So, does this mean you aren't going to punish me?" Eragon asked as if expecting to be slain right where he sat. Holo seemed to smile in her wolf form, but he couldn't tell completely. "_Don't assume you'll get off that easily you fool. There will be retribution. But that doesn't mean I can't forgive you now. As for this punishment of Saphira's, she said she will lift it once my two fools have completed theirs. You will need to remove your wards for this. Now get on._" Eragon did as instructed and mounted Holo's back before removing his wards on the way to Saphira and the others.

True to what Holo said, even though Saphira was present, she wouldn't acknowledge him apon returning. And once he set foot on the ground, Brimisi strode up to him with grace and dignity. "_I never really did like you for what you did to my Holo. But if she chooses to forgive you, then so can I. But you will still feel my wrath._" Suddenly a tail slammed between the fork of his legs as she turned away, causing him to go cross eyed in agony. But before he could even fall over, a fist slammed into his face, knocking several teeth loose from his mouth. "Don't you ever convince another Rider of something like this again! I want to do more, but Holo asked me not to." Those words came from Lawrence as Eragon slowly began to lose consciousness.

It was then that Saphira entered his mind again for the first time in four days. She gave him the strength to remain conscious without abating any of the pain. "_You brought this on yourself, so you shall feel its sting on your body until you can think clearly enough to heal it on your own as they have allowed._" Eragon could only groan as he longed for death's sweet embrace.

After he finally came back to his senses, Eragon cast a series of spells to restore his manhood and missing teeth. He then bowed to all present and begged their forgiveness as he apologized. When all had said their peace, Eragon grew serious.

"I think I know how we can beat Alfbern." He conveniently left out the fact that they just needed to fight hard enough for her to finally give up to Holo, but he felt that he had a plan to get them there the fastest. "Here's the plan…"

For the next half hour, their strategy was laid out in front of them while Saphira tried in vain to breech Eragon's defenses around how he had come up with this strategy. Eventually, Eragon's speech slowed slightly enough that only she could perceive the difference as Eragon split his focus to talk mentally to her. "_I won't tell you how I came to this conclusion. Not right now at least. Please just trust that I at least know how to fight, even if I still know nothing about anything else. Arya has at least drilled that much into me._"

Saphira hummed inside his mind. "_She's going to give you an earful when we get back home. She knows not the specifics, but that you were at the center of Holo's condition somehow. And she is personally coming to collect them after we get back, as they all wish to join the Rider's in Alagaësia, but do not have the strength or coin to make it there themselves. By the way, you need to dig up one or two thousand gold coins soon for that very trip to make it easier on Arya._" Eragon's speech stuttered for a second as his brain skipped from Saphira's words. The others were visibly confused, but didn't ask about it.

Finally, they all gathered their provisions after Eragon made a few more healing items and left for Yoitsu and Alfbern. They all arrived quickly and were ready to fight, only two questioning whether or not this was right. Brimisi and Eragon shared a look of concern as they recognized without being connected what was on the other's mind. Holo, even after hearing Brimisi's hesitation a few nights earlier, had no such confusion. She was behaving exactly as Alfbern had desired.

"At last young wolf. You are whole again. And it only took you around five days. You had two left. Did you not want to rest up more? Or did you think I would be in better shape after all of those useless 'injuries' you laid on my body?" Alfbern spoke with such contempt that Eragon and Brimisi both questioned whether what they knew about her was correct. If this was an act solely for Holo's benefit, Alfbern was a gifted actress indeed.

"I was made whole after but a day you demon. We cared not for your health as much as taking more time to rest our own tired bodies and came running as soon as we could to finish the job we began." The venom in Holo's voice rattled Lawrence, as he had never heard her so angry as to intentionally, and happily, kill another being before.

"Then let us end this tragic farce! Fight me with your worthless strengths as we face our own existence." As Alfbern spoke, she was already transforming. It took another few minutes before she was fully transformed. But this time, the group didn't have to find their Dragons, and were all already in position and attacking with magic and blade.

Holo managed to make several cuts to Alfbern's right arm while she was still small enough to be hurt by Fyrngarm, leaving her truly wounded as she grew larger. Eragon cast several spells of fire and lightning, hoping to cause at least enough damage to her skin as to make movement uncomfortable. Surprisingly, his elemental magic seemed to have an effect this time, as Alfbern didn't appear to have cast her previous wards. He also went with such theatric displays in order to make the battle as ferocious as possible. One can't fight a battle for the history books if the battle isn't epic after all.

The fire singed Alfbern's fur enough to send a stench to her nostrils, blocking out any other scent. That should allow for a slight handicap at least. Eragon's lightning still coursed through Alfbern's body, causing her to spasm, irregularly. This allowed for periodic gaps in her mental defense as all participants assaulted Alfbern's mind.

But then, just as before, Alfbern let loose a mighty roar of magic, mental energy, and pure sound, causing everyone to stumble. This time, however, the Eldunari didn't seem too phased by this, as they didn't lose much of a hold in her mind. Since the Eldunari were absent from Eragon's mind during his conversation with Alfbern, they had no knowledge of why they weren't being as affected as last time, and attributed it to her weakened state.

Alfbern started swatting at the buzzing Dragons around her head as blue began to breath fire and green swatted her tail at her ears, sending pieces of meat flying with each strike. Alfbern began adding the same slicing wind magic to her claws as she swatted at them more. She managed to clip Saphira's left wing, causing her to lose altitude, but Eragon mended it quickly enough to avoid getting hit again.

The plan was going well. Finally, Alfbern seemed to catch on that Holo was no longer riding Brimisi, as Fyrngarm was no longer biting into her flesh. Just as she began to look for her, Holo clawed into Alfbern's right hindleg and began stabbing and slashing with Fyrngarm alongside of ripping out chucks of flesh with her claws. Eventually, she began to slide down Alfbern's leg with Fyrngarm still sunk to the hilt in her leg. This was a decisive blow, no matter how shallow it may have seemed and still bled profusely.

Alfbern howled in agony as she tried to step on the small wolf. But Holo deftly dodged and began attacking the other leg. Alfbern could no longer support herself on the hind leg previously attacked, and therefore, couldn't evade Holo's attack on her next leg. When Holo's work was complete, Alfbern hit the ground on her rear, reduced to swatting like a baby at buzzing flies and pesky rats. It appeared that her mind was becoming more and more focused on her pain as more Eldunari began to gain access to Alfbern's mind.

Holo transformed back as she mounted Brimisi once more. With all her speed, Brimisi moved to Alfbern's back to give Holo a decent shot. Holo at once summoned All of her rage, fear, and protective instincts over those she loved as she uttered the ancient language. "**Brisingr vindr!**" At Holo's command, Fyrngarm burst into flames as a powerful wind took hold of it for her, spinning the sword with the tip pointed straight at base of Alfbern's enormous skull. "**GÁNGA!**" At Holo's urging, the sword flew forward and spiraled into Alfbern's neck, piercing her spine before imbedding itself too solidly to continue spinning. There the sword continued to burn with intensity strengthened from the wind as Alfbern's body fell motionless, save for her head.

Holo retrieved her blade with another word from the ancient language before flying with Brimisi to Alfbern's face, glowing with pain and anger at the world. "_You wretched little wolf! How could you do this! How could you join the powers that created us in the first place? The powers that only wanted to extend their own worthless existences at the cost of ours?_" Alfbern screamed this in pure agony.

Holo was unphased by all this as she looked on. "In a sense, I am grateful to them. Had their selfish desires not lead them to do such things, I would not have existed in order to know the joys of mating with Lawrence, giving birth to my daughter Myuri, or bonding with my Dragon Brimisi. And despite you having taken much from me, I can't entirely hate you either. As it was you and your mate that saved my ancestors that would lead to me. You also caused the little fiascos along the way that made my dear Lawrence do what he did. In the end, it was you who caused us to be together. And also, had it not been for you, I might not have been healed of my mental injuries. But the cause of good or not, you still must answer for your crimes." Holo spoke with dignity and pride as the Wisewolf of Yoitsu. She spoke as the mouthpiece for all incarnations who suffered at the hands of this great monster.

Alfbern finally seemed to give up. "_Yes, young wolf. You are right._" Alfbern began to transform back into a human right then. When her transformation was complete, everyone gathered in front of her limp body. Holo strode behind her to take the position of executioner for her crimes, but hesitated. Alfbern spoke what she knew were some of her last words. "Tell me your name young wolf. I am not sure I ever heard it. Who is it that has brought me so low?"

Holo screwed her eyes shut as she answered. "Holo. Holo the Wisewolf of Yoitsu. Holo of the Wheaten Tail. Dragon Rider Holo." Alfbern closed her eyes as she choked out the words. "Young Holo. You are too kind to end me properly outside of the heat of fierce battle. Why don't you give the responsibility to another? I will not run, as if I could." Holo's eyes shot open as she raised her sword. But she just couldn't move after taking that position. Tears flowed from her eyes as she wondered why she just couldn't do this.

Suddenly, Lawrence and Brimisi flooded Holo's mind with love and kindness as the spoke to her in unison. "_You have already avenged your kind. Don't force yourself to do something like this. Allow us to put to rest one of your fears._" At once a Dragon's foot and a gleaming silver sword came thundering down with authority on different parts of Alfbern's frail old body. The great bear, was no more. Holo just collapsed onto her knees and sobbed. It was over, and she was glad. But she didn't fully understand why she wasn't okay with this ending.

"Why do I feel like this? I was so sure. I had resolved to take her life no matter her guilt or remorse. Why do I feel this way?" Lawrence stepped forward to calm his wife.

"From the looks on everyone's faces, and by your words, it seems that I'm the only one who doesn't know something. I know you though. You cannot simply abandon those in need. You won't kill the helpless regardless of their past crimes. It's just not you."

Here, Eragon took over. "Holo, I spoke to Alfbern on the second day of my isolation. Believe it or not, she wanted you to kill her. She let you go that day on purpose in order to allow you to fight her as an incarnation today. You didn't do so before. She has lived a long enough life to be hated by all living things. There was nowhere for her to go anymore. Trust me, this was a kindness to her. She didn't want me to tell you about our discussion, but I can't abide by that while you are again in pain over this." Holo finally began to calm down. "Tis just as you thought, Brimisi. She truly did wish to die. And by my hand no less. Yet I couldn't do it."

Brimisi again flooded her mind powerfully. "_Holo, you brought her down. Whether or not you delt the final blow, she had given in with your last attack and accepted your words as you spoke them to her. Be at peace, for judgement has been given to a criminal accepting of the charges and willing to take her sentence as demanded. Do not fret over this as if you have done something wrong yourself._"

Holo picked herself up and leaned on Brimisi with her other arm wrapped around Lawrence, pulling him close. "I'm so glad you both chose me. My beloved, and most foolish companions."


	15. Heading Home

**Heading Home**

Eragon had been gathering gold all day, but he was finally reaching the end. He had at long last, gathered exactly two thousand gold pieces worth of gold, and tomorrow, would begin the task of marking them with the symbol of the Lumione gold coin. Lawrence would leave tomorrow to meet with Hilde in order to arrange to keep the gold with him, so as to not need to pay two thousand Lumiones in person. This way, the bill by the boat master would be made out to the Debau Company. Holo was taking care of the title transfer to Selim and Hanna.

It seemed everything was working out, now that Alfbern had been slain following Holo's return to perfect health. And to top it all off, immediately after everyone returned to where Saphira was now biting several trees in half to quell her roars of pain, they found that she was laying several eggs! Holo was the first to respond to the sight. "Saphira! I didn't know you were pregnant! How did I not smell it?"

In between gasps for breath, Saphira answered. "_One… of two… reasons. First… Dragons don't… have the same smell. Second… I didn't… give off that smell… until after you… had stopped acting… as a wolf. Afterward you had been too preoccupied with battle to smell for pregnancy._"

Holo thought about it, but in the end, simply shrugged her shoulders and looked on in amazement at the eggs. There were five different colored eggs currently laid, with Saphira saying she knew there was one more left, for a total of six. There was a purple, a red, a blue, a green, and a brown egg in the mix. When Saphira finally laid the final, golden egg, Eragon's jaw dropped in surprise and understanding. Although he was able to keep the nature of his surprise hidden from the others under a mask of surprise for her laying eggs now.

Lawrence walked up to the eggs with Holo as they both admired the dazzling colors. But Lawrence couldn't take his eyes off of the final egg. The golden one. Eragon had a quick conversation with Saphira, who was exhausted with her tongue lolling out, before she nodded her agreement.

"Lawrence, Saphira has given me permission to tell you this. Should you want to try, after you arrive in Alagaësia, so that we have time to perform the spells and rituals over these eggs to set them aside for Riders to be, you may be presented with the golden egg you've been so enamored by. While I can easily do the spell myself, we made a pact with the other races that at least one representative would be present from each race during the placement of spells over Rider bound eggs so as to ensure any one race does not think to ensure an egg only chooses their own race. Should I do it here, I may be accused of preparing this egg for humans alone. What do you say? Would you like to try?" Eragon already knew the outcome, but figured he should ask anyway.

Holo jumped and answered for him. "Yes! He will accept your egg Saphira! Just tell me when and where to bring him!" Saphira just nodded and went to sleep. The rest decided to quietly celebrate lightly at the bathhouse for now, and officially celebrate all that had occurred tomorrow.

When the next day came, they all celebrated with food and drink before Lawrence and Holo headed for Lesko on Brimisi. Holo cast a light bending spell to turn them all invisible so they could fly all the way to the Debau Company's rooftop. Eragon busied himself with changing all of the coins into the proper stamping. While he could likely change all at once, Lawrence was still skeptical, or possibly wanted a more subtle way of punishing him, and made him transform no more than ten at a time, saying he must inspect every one to a real Lumione gold coin for likeness. Any that were even slightly off must be done over. It was tedious work, but it must be done.

Once Lawrence, Holo, and Brimisi reached the rooftop, Holo extended her mind to Hilde, treasurer of the Debau Company. He didn't initially understand what was happening inside of his mind, but slowly relented and agreed to come to the roof. The look of relief that it truly was the two Holo said was evident on his face.

"Master Lawrence, Lady Holo! Welcome back to Lesko! Where on earth did you get such an abi…" Hilde's words fell from his mouth as the spell wore off of Brimisi. "Worry not, Sir Hilde. Brimisi shall not eat you. If you feel this way in front of one her size, you should have seen my face when I sensed one far larger than her in my backyard." Hilde looked at her in amazement. "Is that a Dragon?!"

"_She. Is 'she' a Dragon? And yes, I am. And as for the question you were likely about to ask, it was I who gave her the abilities of the mind when I hatched nearly six months ago now._" Said Brimisi with a slight edge to her voice. "Calm yourself Brimisi. He is a friend who doesn't know of us yet. Not all will react to you as we did."

Lawrence didn't give time to let the moment set in. He had business to discuss and a journey to set on. "Sir Hilde, if you would, I would like you to take a large sum of gold to give to a boat master we will find soon. We will be leaving this land shortly, and we have a large sum to hire a ship to take us to our new home. The only catch is that this is not a true minted currency. We respect you enough to tell you that much. We also did not take the gold from your land or mines, as it all came from the mountains of Nyohhira."

Hilde looked on in confusion. "You both wrap yourselves in the most unusual situations. As a merchant yourself, will these counterfeits hold up if I were to test them against the real thing?" Lawrence's face became mischievous like Holo's. "You might even assume the real one is a fake." Hilde nodded at that.

"So, how many shall I be taking?" When Lawrence told him the full number of two thousand gold pieces, Hilde nearly fell over. "Master Lawrence! Where do you plan on going with such funds? The farthest round trip will cost only half that!" But Lawrence was firm in his assessment. "We will be spending a month on a ship with Brimisi staying on deck. We need him to keep quiet about her. Also, we are only telling him a direction and not a destination. Finally, a rather large dragon will be picking us up in the middle of the ocean by the end of it. The full two thousand is for him to not ask any questions and sail as needed."

Hilde could only manage to continue nodding as he had since arriving on the roof. "I say again, you both entangle yourselves in the oddest of situations. Right then, I shall take your coin and wish you both good luck. I would say come back and visit, but if you need a bigger Dragon escort, you might not be able to make that trip again. Have a safe journey." They only stayed long enough after that to discuss the method of transport being Saphira, likely later that day, after again being contacted by mind.

With the monetary business concluded, Holo dropped Lawrence off at the docks of Kerube to find a boat master. After five tries, he finally came across a rugged captain by the name of Rolly. "Captain Rolly, would you be willing to travel with nothing but a direction in mind for a certificate of two thousand Lumiones by the Debau Company?" Captain Rolly scratched his neck a few times while sizing Lawrence up. "Let me see that certificate sir." As he looked over it, his eyes went wide. He must have done business with them before to be able to spot a fake from the genuine article.

"Sir, for an amount this large, I'll sail you to the world's edge so you can peer over it if you want! How long's the voyage?" Eragon seemed satisfied he had taken the bait. "We will be your passengers for at least a month, but you will be at sea for at least two, counting the return. Also, we need you to keep quiet about our only cargo. It's quite important that no one thinks you are transporting more than two people to their new home in a new world."

Captain Rolly just laughed before nodding as he replied. "Two thousand gold pieces for escorting two people and not asking any questions? Easiest job ever! You've got a deal." And Captain Rolly reached out his hand to seal the deal. With that taken care of, the two men set a time to meet up two days from then so Captain Rolly could gather provisions and men for the voyage, and Lawrence left to meet back up with Holo and Brimisi.

After arriving back in Nyohhira, Eragon had just finished minting the new Lumione forgeries and loaded them all onto Saphira for transport. After getting back, Saphira immediately went to sleep in order to conserve as much energy as possible, as they were going to head out in the morning, a day before Lawrence, Holo, and Brimisi. Lawrence and Holo returned their borrowed Eldunari, save for Glaedr, and allowed the pair to sleep.

…

The day of the Voyage, Lawrence gave the headings to use after loading all necessary cargo that Lawrence and Holo couldn't do without. It was a tear-filled departure as Miss Hanna, Selim, Aram, and even Hilde himself came to see them off. Even a few villagers such as Cyrus came to see them off.

He actually decided to give Holo the whole keg of his masterpiece saying, "Today I lose my best customers. I'll only save a couple bottles for myself. The rest is yours, no charge. It's still got another month or two left to mature, but I've heard the sea does wonders on the flavor. You'll have to write and tell me how it was." Holo almost kissed the heavily bearded man for the wine that she had to restrain herself from drinking right then and there. But she resisted the urge to do both and simply hugged him with a simple thank you.

But then it was time to set off. Once they were out of sight of the seashore, Lawrence went to talk with Captain Rolly. "Captain, do you remember the discussion we had about my cargo?" The man looked at him with a confused expression. "Do we not have it already loaded, or is it being loaded on the ocean itself?" Lawrence grinned slightly. "Actually, the cargo is about to land itself here in a few minutes. We need you to remain calm as she's not here to eat us. She's quite friendly, so if you wouldn't mind joining us before your men put out the call to arms, we'd all appreciate it."

Captain Rolly's face went pale at the implications of what he just got himself into. But true to his word on land, he didn't question the cargo or tell his paid passengers no. Although, as Brimisi landed, Holo had to step upwind of the man due to the smell in his trousers.

After a few days though, Brimisi ended up catching enough fish for the crew to eat after cooking in their makeshift ovens. This made the crew a lot more comfortable around her for the rest of the journey as well as made it easier for Holo to reveal her ears and tail so as to not have to hide for a month in cramped quarters. If the men were going to know about her Dragon, Holo was not about to have to hide something as small as her true self from them.

Some time in though, Eragon was having a much different time.

…

"YOU DID WHAT TO THAT GIRL!" Arya was in a fit of rage as she tore through his mind for every scrap of information of his last five or six months away from Alagaësia. She almost doubted he wasn't hiding anything if it wasn't for Saphira informing her of certain things, such as his punishment by Holo to come, that she either missed or wouldn't see from Eragon's mind.

When she finally realized that she would get nowhere at the moment with him, she simply transferred Eragon's cache of Eldunari into the space with her own to rest for now as they journeyed to retrieve the trio. Eragon did need to mention one more thing before she set out though. "Arya, remember the language barrier. Lawrence doesn't actually know how to speak in the ancient language, so unless you want to speak as I did when I first arrived, or simply have the Eldunari speak for you, they might just need to overload your mind. I avoided that as it sounded rather unpleasant."

Arya looked at him with fire in her eyes. "This is about to get unpleasant very soon. Just wait until I get back." Eragon gulped as she flew off on Firnen without so much as a goodbye. But just as he thought the worst of it for the time being was over, Saphira looked at him with fire in her eyes as well. "_Oh, partner of my heart and mind. I seem to recall you telling me back in Ploania, something about how you wouldn't forget to do something until we made it all the way back here. Do you remember what that was my dear Rider?_" Eragon was genuinely at a loss. So, she gleefully reminded him of how he had failed to scrub down every one of her scales as promised from when they first arrived over five months ago. Eragon's fear returned tenfold as he also remembered on his own the punishment she had planned for him.

It took the pair less than a week to arrive at the ship, where the crew was already expecting to see a massive Dragon. Firnen was a good bit faster than Saphira, and therefore was able to fly much faster. Arya had also chosen to be overloaded with the language of Ploania so as to be able to speak for herself.

As she spoke from the air, she needed to at least start off mentally. "_Greetings friends. Master Glaedr, its good to see you well. You did well to be able to guide me here so effectively. I had little room for error in finding your exact location._" Glaedr responded curtly. "_It's not as if I had much else to do. But your flattery is appreciated._"

Firnen then landed in the water beside the ship, as he was as big as the vessel itself. Arya then vaulted off of Firnen and onto the ship, much the astonishment of the men, who were instantly taken by her beauty. Holo took one whiff of her and already liked her for her own reasons. "You smell of the forest. All I have smelled for a month is saltwater. Both from the ocean and the men. I appreciate the change of smell."

Arya thanked her for the kind words as she asked for a place to rest for a short while as Firnen rested his head in the netting the boat had for fishing so as to not let it slip into the water. When she awoke a few hours later, Firnen was loaded up with the keg and Brimisi with the few other valuables they couldn't lose, Holo was given the Eldunari they had already met previously, and they all set course from the air for their new home. Arya safeguarded their belongings with a spell against breaking or damage of any kind. Holo had Arya be extra careful with her wine keg and insisted she add stronger spells. To this, Arya both complied and laughed in a clear, bell like voice. Also, over the course of their travels, Lawrence and Holo both agreed to, slowly, have the several languages of the land implanted into their subconscious. This was not offered to Brimisi at the time, as she was still flying. But she would get her time when she was ready.

It took them a weak and a half to return to the shores of Alagaësia. And when they did, the trio, mainly Brimisi, all nearly collapsed on the beach from travel exhaustion. Arya made no complaints about this, as they had never been pushed like so before, and were clearly unused to it. After Arya informed Eragon through mental contact that she had returned, Eragon informed her that he was about to use a transportation spell.

"You all may want to step back. This is a very inaccurate spell that is coming our way." Suddenly, an explosion of magic sent sand flying in every direction as everyone hid behind the two green Dragons. Eragon had sent Saphira's golden egg.

"Eragon told me that when he had contacted Alfbern, the last thing she told him was that she could trace his mind to see into all of your minds, for she was apparently that gifted. And in doing so, came to a conclusion she told Eragon simply as, 'The gold is for Lawrence. You'll know what I mean when it happens.' and she flung him from her mind shortly after. He had no idea of what she meant until Saphira laid her eggs in Ploania. So, Lawrence, I do believe that this is for you." She said this as she handed him the glittering golden egg more radiant than any coin he had ever seen in his life. "Just as everyone else, you will have two weeks with the egg. I suggest for now at least, you put it in your satchel."

Lawrence did as instructed, before mounting up again in order to make for Mount Arngor, where Eragon's punishment was preparing to begin. They arrived around an hour later. As they landed, the trio immediately sought after beds, which the elves happily made up for them. Arya simply made for Eragon after telling Holo, "Eragon's punishment begins soon. Should we wait for you to witness it, or should I proceed as is?" When Holo waived her off with her tail in exhaustion, Arya smiled and replied, "I will see to it that he takes a while with me. He is far from my true equal with a blade." And Arya left at that.

As she approached Eragon, he was clearly nervous for the coming battles. As he was making to ask Arya something, she deftly pulled her already magically blunted blade, Támerlein, and struck as if to sever his head. Eragon only just barely survived having his neck crushed through blunt force alone as he dodged, unable to pull Brisingr in time. She finally gave him time to draw Brisingr from its sheath and began to duel in earnest. Or, at least in earnest for someone who was intentionally drawing out the fight to guarantee Eragon was properly tired before even starting the other matches, and therefore, gave Holo time to rest, even as she was given more energy by the Eldunari.

The fighting lasted a whole two days before reaching Holo. By this point, Eragon was almost solely on the defensive for the final third of his fights. He had almost no energy to even hold his sword, while Holo was rested and ready to pounce. She had special clothing made that could split apart at a spell and would tie itself back together the moment it left her form. This was for if she ever decided she needed to quickly use her wolf form. Holo loved the genius of the Elves.

But here, she may not be able to use them. "Saphira, please give him just enough energy to attack and not simply defend. I said I do not want him defenseless against me and I meant it. But if he can only defend, then I consider that to be the same thing." Saphira acknowledged Holo's request and gave Eragon just enough energy to satisfy that request. He was still sore everywhere, so his movements were sluggish, and his reflexes were shot. In short, this would be more of an even match since he could no longer move at the speed of Elves, and Holo had never possessed such abilities.

She allowed Eragon the first move, a piercing thrust to her heart. Holo sidestepped and thrust the pommel of Fyrngarm into his ribcage before slapping him. "Stop pretending to fight and fight me! Do not disgrace me by losing quickly so as to finish this! I want your best with your current strength. Now promise it in the ancient language."

She stopped her movements while Eragon did as she asked. As such, he genuinely tried to best her, but his mind was still too hazy from lack of sleep and two days of battling. Arya alone caused him half a days' worth of fighting. The rest of the Order was easy by comparison. But Holo, she truly wanted his current best and was willing to wait to get it, so he couldn't disappoint or try to simply fend her off as she pummeled him. He then tried a series of complex sword techniques with Brisingr that he was only barely able to pull off before his sword was wrenched from his hand. She even allowed him to pick up Brisingr again without stopping him.

"Why do you try such complex maneuvers that are currently beyond you? Just fight me with what you have." Eragon accepted her words and simply fought her as best he could without overdoing it. The fight lasted another ten minutes in what appeared to most as very unspectacular. Most of the Elves had left and only two dwarves remained. The Urgals and humans had the most still in attendance, with the Urgals being the far larger number. Eventually, Holo bested him, as all knew she would, and she helped him to his feet. "I hope you've learned your lesson. The words from someone in authority have power. Do not use them in mere warnings that have no basis in fact. Be careful with warnings such as these, as you may not have survived had it been my dear Lawrence that was affected in such a manor."

Later, Holo began talking to the Dwarves to ask about the Dûrgrimst Vrenshrrgn. Luckily, there was exactly one Dwarven Rider from that clan. When Lawrence and Holo approached him, the Dwarf, named Verik, immediately began thanking the gods, both known and unknown to him, for his fortune at being able to meet the great wolf Rider with a sword of the same name as their clan. He was most overjoyed though at being able to speak with them in his own native tongue.

"So, you must tell me, how did you break the beast?" Lawrence responded, as Holo insisted he dealt the final blow. "Well Holo incapacitated her by adding fire and spiraling wind to Fyrngarm and sending it deep into Alfbern's spine. I simply removed her head with the amazing sword of your clan." Verik fell clean on his rear. By the time he was able to stand again, he was demanding that Lawrence show him the sword, which Eragon and Arya both told the couple to start wearing at all times.

"We must name the sword after such a battle! Had we known it would deal the killing blow to the monster, we would have put more effort into it. It should be called Bear's Bane. But know one more thing as well, Lawrence, tis not just my clan any longer. Tis your clan as well now if you accept the ceremony with the Knurlnien. Once you do, you both will be treated as Dwarves yourselves and will have the right to our burial grounds, to own shops, and to live on our lands. I would be honored to extend this formal invitation to you both, noble wolf and mate of wolves. And to you as well great Brimisi. Do not think I have forgotten you, the great Dragon with enough sense to choose a wolf." Even though he laughed as he said the last part, he was quite serious.

Holo then began to speak. "This was actually the very type of thing we wished to speak of. I had heard that with the sword given to my mate, we would receive such an offer. We in fact do wish to take you up on that." Verik hit his own head with his palm so hard that he left a red mark that looked about to bleed. "We must make contact with the Grimstborith immediately!"

Holo sent a mental message to Lawrence. "_He's quite the character, isn't he? I like him. And if the Dwarves here are representative of their race, I think I will like living with them._" Lawrence rolled his eyes. "_You will like drinking with them._" Holo replied seductively. "_Is there a difference my dear?_"

Once Verik had gathered a mirror to contact the Grimstborith, he informed him of Lawrence and Holo's plans to join their clan. The Grimstborith told Verik that a great feast would be prepared in honor of a true wolf being added into the ranks of the Dwarves of Dûrgrimst Vrenshrrgn.

While they enjoyed the festive atmosphere at Mount Arngor while it lasted, eventually, Verik declared his intentions to leave and begged the three to leave with him. Holo asked him to wait just a little longer before they could leave. She made to find Arya and Eragon in order to return Glaedr's Eldunari to them.

"I thank you Master Glaedr for all you have done for me. I could never repay you for these gifts. You freed my mind as well as you helped me get to my new home. Eragon, as much pain as you have caused me, I am grateful to you as well. Without you, I would have never known Brimisi, or the sense of completeness that can come from being bonded to a Dragon. And finally, even if this egg does not hatch for my dear Lawrence, there are people here who will live long enough to keep me from being lonely for the rest of my days! I have much to be grateful to you for. And Arya, I thank you as well. You personally came to collect us and treated us most kindly. I understand that this may have been in part to Eragon's blunder, and we will eventually have to step in line with the Order, but the treatment has been most kind indeed and I thank you for it." And with her thanking done, the wise, old wolf bowed her head to the leaders of the Riders.

Eragon was the first to reply. "I am humbled by your thanks, Holo. You honor me greatly. And while yes, we will eventually expect you to follow our orders and customs as we send you on missions, we will not expect that until you've had adequate time to know your new home and fly across this vast land. There is much to witness here. I feel that at least five years should be enough to let you familiarize yourselves with both the land and customs. Travel as much as you can though, as customs change drastically, even among the clans you plan to live with."

Arya gave a much shorter reply. "Your thanks are appreciated, Holo. As Eragon stated already, travel often, as there is much to see. Please visit me in Elesmera from time to time as well. I will gladly welcome you into my hall. Although, you may be dissatisfied with the food as we Elves do not eat meat, and request that even the Dragons keep their kills to the edges of the forest. Have a safe journey, and enjoy your new home."

With those last preparations made, Holo, Lawrence, and Brimisi left with Verik and his Dragon, Knurhiem, to their new home.

…

They set up quickly in their temporary quarters until they were to receive more permanent lodging later. The feast was grand and included the Blood Oath apon the Knurlnien at the end with the both of them being now recognized as full blooded Dwarves. As Holo was just about to pass out on their bed, Lawrence began to act weird.

"Um, Holo. The egg is hatching!"

Holo smiled the biggest smile of her life as she started shaking her fists by her face in excitement. She was definitely no longer alone.

**The End**


End file.
